The Atlanta Hawks made some really good moves over the offseason, to date the only failed one is the signing of Kris Dunn. While the signing of Rajon Rondo could have been a failure, the Hawks managed to pull the iron out of the fire by trading Rondo for Lou Williams.
This seemed to fix a number of issues for the Hawks, including the lack of scoring when Trae Young was off the court. He also seemed to fix the Hawks’ issues with fourth-quarter fadeouts which cost them some games prior to his arrival. His fourth-quarter heroics could become something of a legend.
This is especially true in the epic comeback that started with Trae Young getting to the line at the end of the third quarter of Game 5 in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Williams became fourth-quarter Lou and the 76ers were almost powerless to stop him.
The Atlanta Hawks made the right call trading for Lou Williams.
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Williams has not really been much of a factor in the post-season. Young has been huge for the franchise in his first-ever playoff action and there has been the thought that the two guards could not play together due to a lack of defense.
Well, in Game 5 the Hawks were out of options. Brandon Goodwin is still out of the lineup, Kevin Huerter was having a rare off game and Bogdan Bogdanovic was in foul trouble. The 76ers had fired their shot in the first half and were running out of legs in the fourth quarter.
Coach Nate McMillan put Young and Williams on the court together and the results were spectacular. The 76ers simply could not stop these two with their shot creation for both themselves and their teammates.
To put it simply, the 76ers, one of the best defensive teams in the league all season, had no answers for the two offensive-minded guards. Had it been Rondo who was playing alongside Young, the Hawks would most probably have lost this game.
This fact alone makes the mid-season trade a winner. Without Williams, there is a good chance that the Hawks would have been down a game in the series and fighting to stay in the playoffs in Game 6. Now they only need one win to make the Eastern Conference Finals and they have to be favorites to get there.