Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder revealed what he told the Hawks players after they were down 47 points at halftime to the New York Knicks.
The Knicks won Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against Atlanta with a final score of 140-89, officially eliminating the Hawks from the playoffs. The Knicks led 83-36 at halftime, meaning the game was essentially over halfway through. That’s not a situation that any basketball player wants to be in, especially in a must-win, do-or-die game. Still, the Hawks didn’t just give up and quit, as the team played as hard as they could to the final horn, despite the lopsided score. The Knicks were simply the superior team, and the final score showed that. The Hawks are making no excuses for that fact.
Quin Snyder Reveals What He Told His Players at Halftime
Speaking to reporters following their blowout loss to the Knicks, Snyder was asked what his message to his Hawks players was at halftime, and he gave a very detailed and thorough response to the question.
“It’s hard for any of us to foresee that halftime score. I think, really, the challenge at that point is just to continue to compete and to stay together, to stay connected, whether it’s any opportunity you have. Because we’re all in this, we’re all going to process this and own it. It’s tough, but I thought our guys continued to compete despite that score or how we played, and I think we did that,” Snyder said.
“Again, there are certain things that don’t translate to the scoreboard, and we can look back at the situation. Obviously, there are many, many things that we can look at, but I didn’t think our team stopped competing in the second half. They scored, like bang-bang-bang, in the second half as well, but I did believe we continued to stick together. We didn’t splinter and quit on the game. That’s important in my mind because I think that’s who this team has been. We have an opportunity to play this (playoff) game because we have approached it this way (all season).”
Hawks Fans Calling for Snyder to be Fired
After the Knicks blew the Hawks out, many Hawks fans took to social media to call for Snyder to be fired as the team’s coach. Since joining the team in February 2023, Snyder has a 132-135 record as the Hawks’ head coach. He has coached the team to the playoffs twice in four years, going 4-8 in postseason action while not advancing past the first round either time.
That being said, the Hawks took a giant leap forward this season. Given that the team missed the playoffs the last two years, the fact that they won 46 games this year despite trading former franchise player Trae Young is a testament to the improvements the team made. Getting a potential All-NBA season from Jalen Johnson certainly helped, too.
The odds are that Snyder will begin next season as the Hawks’ head coach, but he will be on the hot seat if the team struggles early on next year, as this season proved they have a talented group that’s on the rise, and losing won’t be tolerated going forward.
Quin Snyder Reveals Message to Hawks Players After Being Down 47 Points at Half