It’s official: Quin Snyder agrees to be new Hawks coach, will take over this season Jimmy Butler: ‘I’m tired of losing… We’ve got to figure this out’ Giannis Antetokounmpo out Sunday vs. Suns due to right quad contusion Derrick Rose says he has not discussed buyout with Knicks Grizzlies rout Nuggets in showdown of top two teams in West

Atlanta moved quickly to find the best coach in the free agent market before other teams made their moves in the offseason, and it worked.

Quin Snyder has signed a five-year contract to be the new head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, and he will take over the position this season. story told by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and shortly thereafter confirmed by the Hawks.

“It was clear from our first conversation that Quinn has all the qualities we were looking for in our next head coach,” Hawks general manager Landry Fields said in a statement. “He has an incredible basketball and emotional IQ and we share the same core values ​​and philosophy of basketball: honest communication and cooperation with players, great attention to detail and a strong focus on player development. We are delighted to welcome him, his wife Amy and their family back to Atlanta.”

Snyder replaces the fired Nate McMillan (with Joe Prunty as interim coach). McMillan was sacked for several reasons, the main one being that he did not live up to the high internal expectations of owners and management for the team this season, as well as a broken relationship with the star. Trae Young.

While Snyder has a lot of work to do in building a winning culture in Atlanta, that will start with his relationship with Young, who hasn’t always gone along with the system the coaches wanted him to play. This relationship will be different for Young because – with this contract and hiring – Snyder walks in the door as equals. He could require Young to play in his system, which would include a lot more three-pointers, but also movement of the ball and the player, rather than Young, who would hit the ball on the floor for 10 seconds.

“I’m thrilled to be back in Atlanta as the next head coach of the Hawks,” Snyder said in a statement released through the team. “Landry has a terrific reputation for being an incredibly bright individual with high character and high quality, and it was immediately apparent that we shared the passion and commitment to building a winning team with a solid foundation and high standards. I am thrilled to be partnering with Landry to create a successful program that dedicated Hawks fans are proud of and support, and I am grateful to Tony, Jami, and the Ressler family for this opportunity.”

Snider could be on the bench in Atlanta as early as Tuesday, although there will be limits on how much he can change the system in three quarters of the season.

At the beginning of this season, the Heat were perceived as a team that Jimmy Butler A three-pointer for getting back to the finals a season ago and can get back to that level if things go wrong.

Things didn’t break.

The Heat lost four games in a row and went 32–29 into the play-in zone. Jimmy Butler upset as he said after the game on Saturday via Anthony Chang of the Miami Herald:

“I’m tired of losing,” forward Jimmy Butler said.

“I don’t think anyone here wants to lose,” Butler said as he stood in front of his locker after Saturday’s loss at Charlotte. “We have to figure it out very, very quickly.”

There are a few things that are affecting the Heat’s struggles this season: Butler missed 15 games – that’s part of it (although part of it lies with the team’s medical staff), Kyle Lowrydecline, lack of secondary play and lack of depth on four (Kevin Love was redeemed by the Cavaliers and starts already in the Heat). All of this puts the Heat in fifth place among NBA offenses this season (using NBA.com data).

However, the biggest problem lately is just bad shooting, as Chang points out.

In the current four-game drift, Miami has scored 40-of-139 (28.8%) from beyond the arc. This includes an alarming 15 of 59 (25.4 percent) three-of-a-kind wide-open shots (when the nearest defenseman is six feet or more away), according to NBA tracking statistics.

Guys who usually shoot outside of this four-game stretch: Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love shoot below 30% of arc during this segment (and Caleb Martin is 30.8%). Just taking pictures will help.

If Miami doesn’t find their way on offense over the next month, they’ll have a lot more to go back to the Finals than missed a 3-pointer.

Sunday’s nationally televised game between the Suns and the Bucks – a rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals and a potential preview of the Finals this year – will be missing a couple of stars. Kevin Duran hasn’t made his debut for the Suns yet, but looks like it will be Wednesday.

Now comes the word that Giannis Antetokounmpo out of action with a hip bruise in the previous game against the Heat.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters that Giannis Antetokounmpo (a bruised right quad) will not play against the Suns tonight.

Antetokumbō was also not on the floor during his usual pre-match routine.

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 26, 2023

It’s not a surprise, but the news could have been worse for the Bucks as it doesn’t look like Antetokounmpo will be out for a long time. The Bucks are 6-5 in games Antetokounmpo has sat out this season.

Antetokumbō returned from a sprained wrist faster than expected and went up against the Heat in the first game after the All-Star break. But then at the end of the first quarter, he took time off from the game and went straight to the Bucks locker room, never to return.

Giannis Antetokounmpo takes time out and goes straight to the Bucks locker room. pic.twitter.com/GHMo3SwYpx

— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) February 25, 2023

Antetokounmpo has been playing at the MVP level this season – averaging 31.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game – and it’s a priority for the Bucks to be healthy for the playoffs.

When a report leaked out of Phoenix that the Suns would be interested in Derrick Rose if it was bought out, it was clearly an attempt by someone from the Suns to plant the idea in Rose’s head. He’s dropped out of the Knicks’ rotation – the two minutes he played on Saturday was his first of 2023 – and the suggestion he’ll play a larger role with Kevin Duran it was clear (even if the Suns had gone to the point).

This message did not reach Rose. He seemed oblivious and uninterested in Saturday’s pre-game commentary. via Peter Botte of the New York Post.

No, I haven’t talked to anyone about it. I don’t…