Ink on Indy
Fansided

Indiana Pacers: Top 5 Head Coaching Candidates

By Kyle Nishida

May 26, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird watches the game against the Miami Heat in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 102-90. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird watches the game against the Miami Heat in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 102-90. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Indiana Pacers
July 27, 2012; London, United Kingdom; USA men’s basketball assistant coach Nate McMillan addresses the media during a press conference in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games at the Main Press Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Nate McMillan (478-452 NBA regular season record)

McMillan has been an assistant with the Indiana Pacers the past two season. Prior to joining the Pacers, he has long stints with the Seattle Supersonics and the Portland Trail Blazers.

In eight of his 12 seasons as a head coached, his teams have achieved a .500 record or better. He has moderate success in the playoff though. The furthest he has reached with the Sonics or the Blazers is the Western Conference Semifinals.

McMillan certainly knows defense, which is why he worked so well as an assistant for the Pacers. His recognition as defensive coach earn him a spot on Team USA’s coaching staff. He has been involved in keeping the Pacers’ defense relatively solid in the past two seasons.

McMillan has plenty of experience to warrant a promotion to the Pacers’ head coaching spot. Also, players are already very familiar with him. As a result, McMillan and the players do not need to waste a lot of time getting acquainted with one another.

Unfortunately, McMillan might not be the best fit for what Bird is looking for. McMillian is lauded as a defensive coach while Bird is looking for a more offensive mind.

Looking back at McMillian’s offensive philosophy, he generally relies on his stars in isolation or post up situations. At Portland, he constantly ran isolation plays for Brandon Roy and post ups for LaMarcus Aldridge. This strategy worked for the Blazers, but it also made them predictable and underutilized the other players on the roster.

To be fair, McMillan had a couple of good catch-and-shoot players in Seattle like Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. So he can cater to the strengths of the players on his team.

However, the Pacers have a lot of players whose success is predicated off isolation and post up plays. This style of play got the Pacers to the playoffs, but if Bird wanted to keep that style of play he would have kept Vogel. Bird is looking for a new, creative offensive style.

McMillan is someone that Indiana Pacers will talk to because of his extensive coaching experience and familiarity with the team. However, he not as strong of a candidate as the others because he is too similar to Vogel.

Next: Jeff Van Gundy

Home/Indiana Pacers