The Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association fired head coach Nate McMillan of Raleigh, North Carolina according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. The news could come as somewhat a surprise, because the Pacers had a respectable regular season record of 45 wins and 28 losses, but were swept in four games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
McMillan has coached 16 seasons in the NBA since 2000-01. He had been with the Seattle Supersonics for five seasons from 2000 to 2005, with the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, and had been the head coach of the Indiana Pacers since 2016. In 1249 regular season games, McMillan had a record of 661 wins and 588 losses for an excellent winning percentage of .529.
However, a major reason why McMillan was fired came down to his poor playoff record. In all four seasons coaching the Pacers, McMillan got Indiana to the postseason, but only posted a record of three wins and 16 losses for a winning percentage of .158. Of 10 career playoff series, McMillan has only won once, and that was with the Seattle Supersonics in the 2005 NBA Playoffs. Seattle beat the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference quarterfinal series before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinal series.
There are now some talks that Mike D’Antoni could be leaving the Houston Rockets to come to Indiana. This report has been rumoured by the Sporting News. However, the Rockets are currently still in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Houston is presently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder at two games apiece in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
