New Matchups, Same Problems
Atlanta Hawks Coach Quin Snyder indicated before the game that he would switch up the defensive matchups. The only change was placing Clint Capela on Marcus Smart. Earlier in Smart’s career, defenders would stay back in the paint and let him shoot threes, but more often than not (and especially in the playoffs), Smart made them pay (J.J. Redick had a good anecdote about this on his podcast). While Smart has improved his shooting over his career, leaving him open appears to be the only option for Atlanta, who looked helpless defensively over the first two games. He missed his first two threes, but swished his third from the corner, tying the score at 12 at the 7:20…
