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Heading into the season, the Atlanta Hawks were one of the most hotly-anticipated sides in NBA News considering their offseason acquisitions. However, the franchise have struggled to live up to expectations and are currently languishing in 11th place. They have a 14-20 record with just 3 wins in the past 10 matchups, capped off by a ten-point loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Young star Trae Young has done his best, averaging 26.5 points and 9.5 assists this season. However, in the latest NBA News, their record has reportedly forced the Atlanta Hawks hand to make a change.
NBA News: Atlanta Hawks part ways with Lloyd Pierce in his third season with the franchise
When Lloyd Pierce announced last season that he had plans to take the Atlanta Hawks to the 2021 postseason, there wasn't a lot of argument. The franchise made significant changes to make that happen in the offseason. Bringing in the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo appeared like moves in the right direction.
However, with injuries and poor defensive displays, the Atlanta Hawks have announced in the latest NBA News that head coach Lloyd Pierce has been dismissed.
Pierce was serving his third year with the franchise, putting together a 63-120 record. However, the Atlanta Hawks' recent performances and a drop to 11th in the East have put them in a predicament. Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk announced that the franchise believed a change was needed in order to turn their season around.
"We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe by making this change now that we can have a strong second half of the season," Travis Schlenk said.
The Atlanta Hawks certainly have a talented roster, boasting multiple prolific shooters. However, mounting injuries hampered the side last month, going 4-11 in the month of February. Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovic and De'Andre Hunter are just some of the Hawks stars to have been sidelined recently. To add to that, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo have also been absent for significant periods of the current campaign.
Looking at the Atlanta Hawks' remaining season ahead, it appears assistant coach Nate McMillan could step in as the interim head coach. McMillan has been a head coach in the league for 16 years with both the Seattle Supersonics and Portland Trail Blazers.
