In the NBA, injuries are often viewed as inevitable; very few teams will head into the playoffs without some level of injury concerns. Yes, the Hawks were without two key pieces in Clint Capela and Jalen Johnson, however, this doesn't excuse the poor effort and complete collapse Atlanta suffered. Win one game and you're the 7th seed and will match up with a Boston team you gave some problems in the regular season.
This isn't to suggest the Hawks could have taken out the Celtics; rather, there was a path to a competitive series and reason to feel better about Atlanta's chances moving forward. This slight hope was dashed with Tuesday night's loss to the Magic. Trae Young's ejection put an exclamation point on what a complete and utter failure the game was for Atlanta.
Atlanta Must Evaluate Whether or Not Quin Snyder is Still the Right Fit
It is easy to make the argument that NBA head coaching jobs are the most volatile jobs in pro sports. Teams sitting in great playoff positioning are firing established coaches. Outside of a handful of established names, there isn't one coach who would be a surprise if the playoffs end with a firing. This has to apply to Snyder not only due to the recent struggles, but also the fact that you had two weeks to prepare for Orlando and had zero answers.
Even a casual Magic or Hawks fan could have told you exactly what Orlando was going to do. They were going to battle on defense and make someone other than Trae Young beat them. Snyder knew this and still didn't have any wrinkles or answers for Orlando.
Aside from injuries, the one defense Snyder could offer is the state of Atlanta's rosters. After Trae Young, who do you trust to get a big bucket when the team needs it most? Atlanta has done a nice job bringing in young talent but still lacks an established second scorer. No matter where the blame truly belongs, there is no denying this loss was incredibly difficult to watch.
Atlanta was left flat on the mat without any answers and appears destined for another offseason full of questions. Quin Snyder's seat was already uncomfortable going into Tuesday's game. If that performance hasn't lit it on fire, nothing Atlanta does in the coming weeks will.