Losing to the Brooklyn Nets would've spelled disaster for Atlanta.
Talk shows would've been chirping, players would've been sulking, and answers would've been desperately searched for to explain how the Hawks could've allowed Brooklyn to drop them to a dismal 1-4 after a stellar summer.
The obvious excuse would've been lacking Trae Young, right? Even without Trae, though, the Hawks are a substantially better team on paper than the Nets. Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis headlined this collective effort sans Trae from the moment he went down in the first quarter up until midway through the 4th, when the arena drew to an abrupt hush as KP shockingly picked up his 6th and final foul.
Brooklyn smelled blood in the water.
Down by a mere seven points at the time of Porzingis picking up his last foul, the door was wide open for the Nets to make a run, and that's exactly what they did.
Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. initiated look after look against the Hawks, snipping away at an increasingly precarious lead that Atlanta desperately clung onto without their two stars on the floor. At one point, the Nets were down by one possession with the ball with under a minute to go.
Ultimately, poor decision-making and subpar shot-making by the inexperienced Nets handed the win to the Hawks, but this win was anything but impressive. It was simply a sigh of relief, finally bringing a saga of chaos to an end with the result that was always expected.
The worst part about this nearly disastrous evening? The entire Nets run at the end of the game could've been completely avoided by a simple coaching decision.
Luke Kennard must never remain on the floor in crunch time
Hawks fans know who Luke Kennard is. He's an amazing shooter - valuable enough in this single category to be a sensational role player in the NBA - but he is often a downright abysmal defender. The question is, does Quin Snyder know who he is?
If you were watching the heart-wrenching Hawks game down the stretch, you certainly noticed one commonality every Nets possession of the last six-or-so minutes: Luke Kennard was mercilessly, relentlessly, and categorically attacked by every single Nets on-ball player.
The simple act of bringing a defender's matchup toward the ball for a screen to switch the defense's weakest link onto the offense's premier scorer has been a staple of wizened offenses for the last decade or more. This strategy saw Luke Kennard drawn up to the ball. Every. Single. Time.
While it may not have resulted in a basket every possession, it certainly allowed the Nets to generate far easier looks - be it from an easy blow-by around Luke or from requiring the Hawks to send a double to force the ball out of the creator's hands and exonerate Luke from a deadly matchup, the Nets offense was simply humming when Luke Kennard was on the floor.
While Luke's 4/5 metric from 3-point range were certainly beneficial to the team's win, especially important given his shooting struggles so far this year, he shouldn't have seen any minutes down the stretch when the Nets realized they could attack him over and over and over again.
Fans should have a great deal of respect for Quin Snyder. He's been a sensational coach throughout his career and has delivered in big moments when called upon before. That being said, if Kennard stays on the floor in such a situation again and the Hawks don't get bailed out from a subpar opponent fumbling a golden opportunity, he will quickly find himself in the hot seat.