The NBA announced Thursday afternoon that Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan has been fined $25,000 for "detrimental public comments asserting bias by the NBA relating to the 2020-21 Playoffs." McMillan made comments during media availability on May 19 where he talked about how his team was using the fact that everyone is picking the New York Knicks to beat them in the first round as motivation.
McMillan's full comments:
"I've gone as far as saying the league wants this, they need this. ... New York, you know, this is a big market. It's a big market for the league and New York has been out of the playoffs for a number of years. And this is a team that our league, they want to see. There's a huge fanbase. They want to see New York in the playoffs. They want to see the Lakers in the playoffs. Teams like that, the Boston Celtics, they want to see these teams in the playoffs, and I put New York in that category, that the league wants to see it, everybody wants to see this.
Even to the fact that, our game was moved to Sunday. They want to see this. So yes, we have talked about that. We have talked about the advantages of this situation and some things that we're going to have to face going into the game with kind of everyone picking New York to win. And a lot of folks wanting to see New York in the playoffs. So it's a battle, it's a challenge, that just being New York, all of that comes with playing in New York. And they've had a really good season. So I think the NBA is excited about them being back in the playoffs."
McMillan is just stating the obvious here. It would be like saying everyone wants to see the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl because it would be ratings gold. Having the Knicks back in the playoffs is a huge boost for the league with New York being the biggest market in the country. It's not as if he said the league is rigged in favor of the Knicks, because we have several seasons worth of abysmal play to prove otherwise.
The Hawks are underdogs entering this series, but it's not just because they're starting the series on the road in New York. The Knicks have had a pleasantly surprising season which involved Julius Randle earning his first All-Star nod and looking like a shoo-in to win Most Improved Player. Led by the tough coaching style of Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks have one of the toughest defenses in the league, and a slew of supporting characters who have bought into Thibodeau's style of play.
McMillan being fined by the league may just add more motivation for Atlanta, which will look to pull off an upset against the Knicks when the series tips off on Sunday.
