Atlanta Hawks veteran sends strong message ahead of Game 5

Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari has a message for anyone doubting his team ahead of a critical Game 5. The Hawks are facing elimination, down 3-1, and have struggled to consistently generate offense. This has led to a lot of criticism being lobbed at their superstar point guard, Trae Young.

Young has been held prisoner of a stymieing Miami defense that sends wave after wave after wave of athleticism and length his way.

He is averaging just 16.5 points per game on 48.8% true shooting with 6.0 assists to 6.0 turnovers this postseason. There have been satisfactory scoring performances. But turnovers and a slump from beyond the arc – 21.1% 3P – highlight his struggles.

His veteran took to Twitter to pick his point guard up, literally.

One veteran makes his message loud and clear with the Atlanta Hawks facing elimination

In all fairness, Gallinari proved once again to be vital to the Hawks success during the regular season. Especially in 17 starts due to injuries down the stretch as he averaged 15.0 points on 45.2% shooting while knocking down nearly 36% of his triples. The Hawks went 11-6 in those starts.

He has cooled off in the postseason, as has the rest of the team, averaging just 9.8 points and 5.3 boards while shooting 38.2% from the field.

That did not stop him from posting this message on Twitter.

Not only does the image of Gallinari helping Young up speak volumes, but he also included the hashtag that became popular in 2011 and the Hawks used on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, “Believe Atlanta”.

The Hawks are certainly in need of a little faith. History suggests they are out of it but this team has overcome the odds before.

Miami has also seemed to figure out what the Hawks want to do (not so hard), and how to stop it from being an option (fairly hard). They have shown repeatedly this series why they are the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Conversely, a lot of what has sunk the Hawks this postseason is why they finished as the eight-seed.

It is positive to see them uplift each other even amid personal struggles on the court instead of pointing fingers and infighting as some past teams might have. That is a good sign even if there aren’t many others like it.