Quin Snyder was asked about his expectations following the Atlanta Hawks’ preseason during a presser yesterday, where he declined to buy into the hype surrounding the team, instead insisting on taking the season day by day. Snyder said, “So we've had a really good offseason. We like our team, but there is also part of this where it is like, 'Slow down and focus on today.'”
Snyder does not believe that the honeymoon offseason period will last long, elaborating with “We have a schedule that is really tough out of the gate, and my personal expectation is that this team will need to go through some adversity in order to find a level that we all really want to find.” The Hawks face the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Orlando Magic (twice) in their first eight games.
While no team wants to see an early schedule this challenging, this test could be the best thing for Atlanta’s long-term outlook. As Snyder said, teams with high expectations must face adversity to reach their ceiling. Perhaps a rude awakening during the early stretch of the season would provide the adversity needed to forge a team worthy of competing for an Eastern Conference championship.
Snyder pumps the brakes on the hype surrounding the Hawks
While no NBA head coach will tell the media to drink the Kool-Aid and feed into the hype train, Snyder gave a rather long and thoughtful answer to this question. This suggests that his comments reflect his true thoughts, as opposed to a typical non-answer from a coach.
The Hawks have questions they must answer before the playoffs, the most pressing being their lack of offensive creation outside of Trae Young. The Hawks have been overly reliant on Young to generate offense in recent memory, resulting in a number of negative downstream effects. Most important of these effects is the team’s overall offensive output, finishing at a disheartening 18th in the league last season.
Atlanta will have to experiment with different sets and personnel groups to supplement Young’s self-creation with easy looks while he’s on the floor. Jalen Johnson is a natural ball handler and offensive initiator capable of supporting Young. However, the star pair will have their minutes staggered to ensure the non-Young lineups can survive offensively. Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard, and Vit Krejci will be asked to aid Young on the offensive side.
When Young sits, however, is where the real problem lies. Jalen Johnson is a talented offensive initiator, but the offense has not impressed in the non-Young minutes. Johnson also has not had much experience as a star player, meaning teams could present defensive alignments that stifle Johnson-led lineups. Porzingis, Kennard, and Krejci will have to support Johnson in these minutes, and the shooting threats around Johnson will have to prove themselves.
The team is overall in great shape compared to a year ago, but the hard part lies ahead.