Nate McMillan fire watch

[basketballwacko2]

I'll get it started, how long will it take and how many loses well the team tolerate? I don't think Nate is suited to coach this team. I think we are in for a long hard season 30 wins is my projection give or take 5.

Will the team wait until the end of the year or take action sooner?

[Miller4ever]

One aspect of Pritchard replacing Bird is that he has faith in Nate, having had him in Portland. I think the main question is where the better coach is going to come from. Frank Vogels don't just grow on video coordinator trees.

[Pacers_Freak]

I think he's going to get at least this entire season. Roster has been completed turned over so I think everyone is realistic heading into the season.

[Pacersike]

Pacers FO's are usally patient with their coaches. I believe the Pacers will sneak their way into the playoffs and great/terrible coaches
are very rare. If the Pacers don't make the playoffs, the players are to blame first, not the coach.

When next year the Pacers can't take a step forward, that's when I think a coaching change might be on the table.
McMillan has at least 2 more years to coach the Pacers, is what I believe.

McMillan is a good coach, just like Vogel. Neither is great.

[Miller4ever]

^^Vogel was good. Nate is average at best.

[Wizop]

Losses shouldn't get him fired. On the other hand, wins could if he gets them by stubbornly playing veterans and the expense of player development. I'd hope we'd give him some assurances that he won't get fired because GRob, Sabonis, Leaf, Ike, etc. make mistakes.

[Pacersike]

^^Vogel was good. Nate is average at best.

Both have their weaknesses and both have 3 assistant coaches and other video, conditioning guys to support them.
In the end, what they are able to bring as a coaching team and what the players can bring makes a bigger difference than what the headcoach adds or doesn't add. That's why I can spot a few great coaches out there, a majority of good coaches and every now and then, a bad coach. To rank them individually is not my cup of tea and might be a bit too soon, considering Frank Vogel has yet to lead a second franchise into the playoffs. If he can turn that sinking Orlando ship around, I might change my mind about it.

[boomershadow]

tl;dr alert...

I like both Dan Burke and Popeye Jones a lot. I am not extremely, extremely impressed with Nate so far, but probably the thing I liked most about the hire was that it kept continuity in the organization and kept those guys in place. Probably the single most important thing for our organization going forward is the development of Myles Turner. And this coaching staff has proven they can help young players do that.

We have seen young players with potential, like Oladipo in Orlando for example, with less stable organizations that ours, and it's not good for their development. Coaching changes, scheme and expectation and role changes, different levels of confidence in their abilities, varying levels of dedication to giving youth playing time and allowing them to make mistakes and grow as a player. All that adds up and can be a big difference in whether a player with potential reaches it. That's an aspect of the game that our franchise is really good at, and as a small market team that's what we have to be good at.

Whether McMillan is the right guy to lead us on the court, I don't know. I haven't been convinced yet, but I am really impressed with Pritchard so far at the head of the organization, and he thinks Nate is the guy. I am thinking he should get at least another year, probably two, to see how Pritchard's vision for the team with Nate at the wheel pans out.

That might not make some people who are already calling for Nate's head happy, but I really think it's a much better position to be in than some teams, those that change coaches every couple years. That's why you have seen teams like Orlando (sorry Frank) or Sacramento the last few years seemingly always looking for a new coach and never experiencing much success with any of them. They can't make a plan and stick to it.

[Major Cold]

So in Nate's second season with the Sonics they had an 11 win increase. In Portland, they had a 7 game increase. If we get an increase with Nate with this roster he isn't going anywhere.

[winter_mute_13]

Win increase? Pacers won 42 games last year. If Nate gets anywhere close to that with this roster, I'm ready to call him a freaking genius.

[pacerized]

We're not getting an increase in wins this year. This is a 33-36 win team. I don't like Nate as our coach but he now has the JOB job security plan, we're not going anywhere for a few years so why pay anything for a coach.

[Boneman2]

I think Nate will do a fine job developing the roster because the pressure is off which will allow him to actually develop the team without worrying as much about the final tally.

[Major Cold]

I don't think this roster is built for more than 32 wins. One significant injury to our starters and role players and we might not hit that. With that said I still don't think Nate gets fired. There are better coaches out there. And there are worse coaches out there. Nate is not a JOB, and he isn't a Popovich.

[Tnasty4l]

I like Nate, and this team. Give him a chance with them and see how it plays out before we kick him to the curb.

[tocooks101]

Nate basically has a free year to impress new management, Pacers have 0 reason to fire him this year regardless of how the team does. No chance he is gone this year.

[pacers73]

Nate won't get fired this year and most likely won't get fired next year. They'll just let his contract run out and then make a decision. Similar to what Bird did with Vogel, only hopefully we will make a better decision on the replacement coach.

Nate has a lot of young players and new faces on this team. There will also be some turnover in the summer, so next year's team may have some new key players as well.

[PTA]

You need to wait 2 years for a Nate fire watch unless he has a huge blunder.