00:00Yeah, there was a national title game in college going on,
00:02but I'm pretty sure most of Atlanta was tuned in to watch the Hawks last night
00:05and the Knicks.
00:07That's the kind of buzz this team has created.
00:09Joining us, the head coach of the Hawks, Quinn Snyder on Sports Radio 92.9,
00:13the game coach, thanks for being with us.
00:15Thank you guys for having me.
00:17Appreciate you, as you said, everybody tuning in last night.
00:21We didn't come up while we wanted, but I think we really competed,
00:25and that'll help us get better.
00:29It was, as somebody you know who is a freak for the NBA over the last 40 years,
00:35everything about it felt like a playoff game.
00:37The amount of minutes you played your guys, the urgency with every possession,
00:43the way every late game move seemed to mean more.
00:47Did you get that same sense that I had watching through the TV?
00:51Yeah, that was the plan going in.
00:54And we've looked at these last couple weeks heading into, you know, postseason
01:00and wanted to treat it like the playoffs, and it's gradually gotten further there.
01:06And something as simple and obvious as the minutes, you know,
01:10when you get into a playoff setting, you want your most productive guys out there
01:16as much as possible, and even a guy like J.K., who hasn't been able to play,
01:21whose minutes have gone up, and that impacts everybody.
01:24But I think our team's in a good place where guys understand that
01:29and are still going to have opportunities, and we're going to need everybody to contribute.
01:34Yeah, I mean, it was one of the classic back and forth.
01:37I'll tell you what the narrative was on the Peacock NBC broadcast,
01:40which really got tired to me, is that the New York Knicks have a closer
01:44in Jalen Brunson, and the Hawks are still trying to figure out how to end games.
01:47One team has that experience, another doesn't.
01:50As the guy that is in the huddle under two minutes, Colin Plays,
01:54who is our closer, and do you buy that narrative at all?
01:59I do, to an extent, because we've been together for two months,
02:05and they've been together for three years.
02:08But I think a part of this that people don't always understand,
02:15and referring to the broadcast, is, you know, we're best when we run,
02:19and there's going to be a time when the game is going to slow down like that,
02:24but we can't fall into playing a game where it's Jalen Brunson
02:30versus a singular player on the Hawks.
02:32So, you know, we have different guys.
02:34They have different match-ups at various times in the game,
02:39and frankly, Nikhil is a different player than he was a month and a half ago.
02:45So, you know, now he's in some closing actions,
02:48and that means Jalen has to be spaced.
02:51You know, match-ups, do you want O.G. Inobi on you or Jalen Brunson on you?
02:57So there's a lot more going on for us than just give one guy the ball.
03:02That doesn't mean that we can't close games kind of our way.
03:07But I think what we did see is their physicality went up at the end of the game,
03:13and it was less about who and what as much as how.
03:17And so being in that situation, and I'm actually going to share that with our team
03:23because I think they have to process it the right way,
03:26and I'd like to think we could be even better closing as we find that rhythm.
03:31But that's something that was really beneficial for us last night.
03:36We've been playing well, and we've been winning games in margins
03:40where we haven't been in those situations.
03:41And clearly the Knicks have, and clearly Brunson has.
03:45But I would point to, you know, us not being able to get a defensive rebound
03:50because that usually turns into a basket for us.
03:53And those are the things that we have to keep doing to take advantage of what is a team
04:00with a lot of balance and a lot of weapons.
04:02And that makes our challenge a little different than theirs.
04:10The physicality is something you referenced.
04:12But listen, the Knicks are bigger than you.
04:15You saw that when you played the Pistons.
04:17You saw it with Mitchell Robinson, who was a real problem last night,
04:20and Carl Anthony Towns.
04:22Not having Landale, how much did that affect you?
04:25And it felt like you put Tony Bradley in and realized, like,
04:30maybe not the time for him because I don't think he got back on the court
04:32or maybe he did for a second.
04:34So that felt to me like, and maybe reference how he got injured
04:38and how much you miss him.
04:41Yeah, there's a lot there that you just mentioned, and it's all very real.
04:46Yeah, I apologize.
04:46The injury was just – no, no.
04:49Frankly, I've been holding back to talk about it because I don't want to make it
04:54about that.
04:54But it was a dirty play, and it's unfortunate because Jock's out.
05:01And he's one of the people that really helped us take a step.
05:04We really haven't had a backup center all year.
05:06And O's battling his tail off.
05:10But, you know, Tony is the only player on our team,
05:13other than Mo Gay, over six feet, six foot eight.
05:16And they're small forward, and Mikael Bridges and OG are the same height
05:20as our center.
05:21So we're battling, and we'll keep looking for some of that.
05:26I think Tony can provide some of that.
05:28I think Mo can as well, situationally.
05:31But we've gotten better playing to our strengths smaller and being scrappy.
05:38And Jock was a big part of that.
05:40So that's a big blow, and it's really unfortunate,
05:43particularly the way that it happened.
05:45And I wish it would have been taken more seriously than it was to get to a
05:49point where there's no penalty, there's no suspension, there's nothing.
05:54And, you know, I've been very, very measured on what I say about that,
05:59but it's wrong.
06:01Yeah, I don't understand.
06:02We're in a blowout.
06:04We're a playoff team.
06:05We're fighting for our lives.
06:07It's not a basketball play.
06:09You threw them down.
06:10You injured them.
06:11Could have been out for the year.
06:12Or what is the league looking to police if they're not going to police a play
06:17like that?
06:20Well, that decision, I don't understand it.
06:24The part of it that's even more concerning to me is we played them last year,
06:28and we were playing probably our best.
06:29We had a similar situation with the trade at the deadline,
06:33and we're playing really well.
06:34And we went down to Orlando, and two guys in our team were knocked out for the
06:38season, Larry Nance and Deet, both on dirty plays.
06:41So here we are, a year removed, and you could see it coming.
06:46You know, that's the game plan against the Hawks is to try to punk us.
06:50And you know what?
06:51It didn't work because we were tough, and we competed, and then it turned into
06:57that when the game was over.
06:58It makes me really, really angry.
07:01And you feel it.
07:03I think the reason I feel this right now even more, and I'm being stronger on it
07:09with you guys because I think you understand it, and I don't want to make it
07:13about that.
07:14No, no, but listen.
07:15You saw it last night, right?
07:17You saw it last night, and we're fighting for our lives here, and we're not a big
07:21team.
07:22We know our advantages, but you got a guy like Landale who comes in who is a huge
07:25body who can also step out and hit a three.
07:28You're having to play guys 40 minutes.
07:30It has a massive impact on the postseason and how healthy he is if you can't get a
07:35guy like him out there.
07:37Well, it does, and I tell you what, we're going to overcome it.
07:41You know, we're going to do different things that we have to do, and your game is a
07:45really tough matchup, and that's why I go back to running.
07:49You know, we've got to get out and mitigate some of that.
07:52You know, if you're down 30, 40 pounds and four inches on someone, like, it's like a
07:58boxing match, you know, you don't want to get stuck on the ropes, and that's something
08:02that our guys know, but it's, you know, sometimes it's harder to do it than it is for, you know,
08:08the two of us to talk about it, but, you know, we've got to keep grinding, and I think last
08:13night, although the result is really tough to, it hurts, because we know what a big game
08:19it was, and that's why it felt like a playoff game.
08:21They approached it that way as well.
08:23No doubt.
08:23You know, you can feel that, too.
08:24Yeah, you see their minutes.
08:25Finish it up with Quinn Snyder, head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.
08:29I think, to elaborate for just a minute on what you said about Nikhil, I mean, I've never
08:35seen anything where I watched a guy early in a year and go, wow, that's a nice pickup.
08:39You can play a little D, you can make a couple of shots.
08:41I mean, last night, it was like the coming out party, draining seven threes, defending on
08:48both ends, but I know you're-
08:49Off of one leg, he's draining threes.
08:50It's like Steph Curry, I couldn't get over it.
08:53So, like, I think you're referring to his offensive confidence more than the D, but boy, is he
08:59in a flow right now, and I'll take three guys that you want the ball in their hands.
09:03I think at the end of the day, we'll see that that's what's going to create opportunity,
09:06but talk about what you mean when he's a different player.
09:09Well, it's, I think it's, I'm glad you brought it up.
09:13I think he's just worked and worked and worked, and his teammates believe in him, the coaches
09:19believe in him, and that confidence is coming from them as much as anything.
09:23And we've got, you know, I've mentioned this before, not to get off on Nikhil, but we had
09:28a guy that was the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in Jalen Johnson who's taken huge
09:33strides.
09:34So, there's a lot of guys, and I know our players are proud and supportive of one another,
09:40and they're beginning to bake that into how they play.
09:43You know, I think as guys grow and get better, you know, their teammates understand that and
09:49find them in different positions and, you know, becomes, you know, exponential.
09:55And what he's done, I mean, it's the work he's put in, it's a passion to improve, and I think
10:03it's also, you know, his teammates, you know, allowing him to elevate, guys understanding,
10:09you know what, he's got it going, I'm going to move the ball to him, and it's part of that
10:14selflessness that we've talked about, because everybody's capable, you've seen it, of having
10:19a big night for us.
10:21Why do you keep saying that this is a seven-game series, your final seven games?
10:25Is that because, well, is that about staying out of the play-in?
10:29So, you're really talking about finishing three, four, five, six, anything, is that what
10:34it is?
10:34Yes.
10:35Yes.
10:36It fit.
10:37When we hit 500, I looked at the schedule, and there was 14 games left.
10:41It was maybe a little after that, and it just made sense to me as a way to really focus
10:46on the finish, and it's not a perfect analogy, but you have seven-game series, seven-game
10:52series, we win those two series, whatever that means.
10:56Basically, what it means to us is you stay out of the play-in, and, you know, we've got
11:01three games left in this seven-game series, you know, and that's the way we've been focused
11:06on it, and we've won the first one, and, you know, that, to me, sometimes breaking things
11:12out in smaller segments like that helps our focus, and so that's the way I wanted to approach
11:17it, and that's been the message to the team, and they've grabbed onto it.
11:20Is there any element behind the scenes that you and your coaches say, we'd rather play
11:24the Knicks than play the Cavs, or play the Cavs than the Celtics, or play the...
11:27Like, do you have those discussions, or you don't have the energy to even think...
11:31You know what?
11:33Yeah, we've just been focused on us.
11:35I think there's some of that going on all the time.
11:38It's going on with other teams.
11:39You hear about it.
11:41I think for us, you know, whoever it is, like, we just want to be in that battle.
11:46You know, we want to be in that fight, and that's been our focus.
11:50Yeah, I mean, the Knicks are right...
11:52Cavs are right behind the Knicks.
11:53Okay, take on the Knicks, or take on Donovan and Cleveland, or whatever.
11:58I totally agree.
11:59Like, if we play the way we can play, share the basketball, and get these guys playing
12:04in flow like they are, why not take our chances with everybody in the East?
12:08So, that's our mindset.
12:09You know, yeah.
12:11I don't want to put a ceiling on this team, and at the same time, we know we've got work
12:15to do to get in that position.
12:16So, I think that's the best way to approach it.
12:19Before you go, did you hear Steve Holman's call the other night on the Orlando thing that
12:22went viral after the hit on Landale?
12:26I didn't hear it, but it was shared with me, and I think everybody felt that, and I'm
12:30glad he said it.
12:31But you did, somebody played it for you, or not?
12:33No, no, I was told about it.
12:36Someone shared it with me.
12:37I gotta tell you, I gotta tell you.
12:40It was epic.
12:40It was pretty epic.
12:41Dude, it was like everything you want of your local guy, who is just...
12:46Well, we know why...
12:47Yeah.
12:48We know why he's a legend, and I'm gonna listen to it later.
12:52You gotta listen to it.
12:53You gotta hear it.
12:54I know, you got a lot of work to do.
12:55I'm trying to focus forward, yeah.
12:56I know, and it just...
12:58Listen, for comedy...
12:59I'll tune into it, for sure.
12:59It's comedy purposes.
13:00Comedy purposes.
13:01The poor guy was having a stroke, literally, in his seat, so...
13:04And, you know, he's doing his walks every morning, but doesn't drink as much anymore,
13:09but God bless.
13:10All right, thanks, buddy.
13:11He's the best.
13:12He is.
13:12All right, guys.
13:13Take care.
13:14Quinn Snyder, head coach of the Hawks.
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