Video: Pierce Reacts to Loss Against Heat

The Hawks head coach discusses his team’s loss to Miami, the play of his bench, and what he saw from his rookies.

The Hawks dropped their third consecutive game on Thursday, losing 106-97 to the Miami Heat. The Hawks struggled out of the gate defensively and started ice cold from the field. Eventually the Heat simply out-executed Atlanta, who was relying on a cast of inexperienced players to run the offense while Trae Young sat with a sprained ankle. 

After the game, Lloyd Pierce discussed his team’s play, including Cam Reddish’a work at point guard and DeAndre’ Bembry’s spark off the bench. 

Atlanta has four days off before hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, November 5. While the team hasn't given a timetable for Young's return, reporting has indicated he could return as early as that game. 

If he doesn't play, Atlanta should have a slightly better grasp of how to operate without him than it did on Thursday, when the Hawks ran much of their offense through Reddish, Bembry, and Kevin Huerter. All are fine ball-handlers, but need more structure to succeed than does Young, who is an offensive structure unto himself. 

Every game Young misses will be an important opportunity for the other young Hawks to grow, but also one Atlanta has a greater chance of losing. Thursday provided ample evidence of exactly what the Hawks are missing.