Nate McMillan, more than most, knows the unpredictable nature of a point guard equipped with unflinching confidence.
As a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, McMillan shared a backcourt with Gary Payton. The brash Payton scored on nearly everyone and backed down from absolutely no one, Michael Jordan included.
So McMillan, now the interim coach of the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, did not panic when the shot of his star guard, Trae Young, was off throughout much of his team’s deciding Game 7 in the N.B.A.’s Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.