The Hawks slumped to their sixth defeat of the season on Sunday after being outscored 35-19 in the final frame against the Phoenix Suns.
That 121-117 defeat – or, rather, the nature of it – highlighted a key issue McMillan’s men are yet to overcome, especially on the road.
Atlanta have lost five of six road games thus far and have routinely rushed shots with little ball movement to trouble opposing defences.
McMillan’s call to “sacrifice” requires stars to put the team’s needs ahead of their own; to prioritise the third or fourth option on a play instead of a low-percentage attempt to boost one’s own stat-sheet.
The philosophy worked wonders last season, when the Hawks caught fire following the 57-year-old’s interim appointment to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015.
This time, however, the Trae Young-led roster has proven much more difficult to manage, with many fearing there might not be enough minutes to go around.
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A deep roster has its benefits, but for McMillan, it matters little if his players aren’t doing what’s required to earn their place on the floor.
“I can’t give you minutes, you have to earn them,” McMillan said.
“That’s what I’ll start to do more of, if you’re not giving it to this team on both ends of the floor, then we’ll rotate some guys in.
“You can’t play everybody, and everybody can’t get the minutes that they probably want, the shots that they probably want, because we do have a number of guys, and you have to sacrifice.”
McMillan will hope his players adhere to his needs sooner rather than later, with Tuesday marking the first of three road games in the space of five days for the Hawks.
The Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets will all look to capitalise on Atlanta’s early struggles, and the latter matchup will air LIVE on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand this Saturday from 12:30pm (AEDT).
