The Hawks somehow survived a win or go home game in Boston, and they’ll come back to State Farm Arena for Game 6. Quin Snyder and the Hawks are still facing elimination, and while Trae Young deserves a bulk of the credit for Atlanta still being alive, I have to give props to Snyder:
Quin Snyder, on Trae Young: "It's a mindset as much as anything."
This whole quote might be the most sensible thing that any of Trae's NBA coaches has said about him. A good sign. pic.twitter.com/M8UwucUgYi
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) April 26, 2023
What Quin Snyder told Trae Young before he hit the game winner:
“Be instinctive. Make a play. We all believe in you.” pic.twitter.com/YYf1HZ90KH
— HawksMuse (@HawksMuse) April 26, 2023
Quin Snyder: "Just keep doing what you can do to extend the series & in this case it gets us back to Atlanta."
"… Every minute, every quarter, just try to make it harder to get closed out. It's hard to close a team out, & we want to make even harder." pic.twitter.com/2lWvVPIEoS
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) April 26, 2023
Snyder has said all the right things and pushed all the right buttons. This has been a tough series, and a middling regular season Hawks team (even under Snyder) has a chance to do the impossible. If they win at home on Thursday, anything can happen. Regardless, Snyder has been putting more trust in the entire rotation for the Hawks, and it’s paying dividends. Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and AJ Griffin look primed to make some larger contributions. While other pieces have struggled, Snyder hasn’t even coached 30 games in Atlanta.
The main component is the trust he puts into his star player Trae Young. We’ve seen Nate McMillan and especially Lloyd Pierce seemingly clash with Trae, and it’s a big reason the Hawks have been so dysfunctional. Snyder has had his failures in the playoffs, but all of that will be forgotten if he can shock the world and set up the Hawks for a rematch against the 76ers.
I’m not sure what the Hawks will do this offseason, and it feels like a lot of it hinges on what happens on Thursday. However, Snyder didn’t sign up for a rebuild, and the Hawks can still make some big moves. We’ll see how things go, but I trust Quin Snyder to get the most out of this current group and any other guys beyond 2023.
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Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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