The Atlanta Hawks suffered a terrible defensive breakdown against the Boston Celtics. They allowed 52 points in the second quarter alone. This disaster led to the Hawks going into halftime down 82-51, which is a humiliating score for any professional team.
This isn’t the first time the Hawks have struggled defensively. In two of their last three games, they’ve given up 80 points or more in the first half. It happened before against the Los Angeles Lakers, where players were hitting three-pointers constantly.
Against Boston, Sam Hauser became the Hawks’ biggest problem. According to ClutchPoints, he made seven of his eight three-point shots before halftime. The Celtics were hitting shots even when defended, but the Hawks made it worse with slow rotations that gave Boston easy, open looks.
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Snyder refuses to brush off the defensive collapse as just another bad game
Head coach Quin Snyder was direct when talking about the defensive failures. “We can’t give up a 52-point quarter,” Snyder said after the game. “That may be all I should say.” He stressed that the team’s competitive focus on defense was nowhere near where it needed to be during that stretch.
Snyder made it clear this wasn’t a game they could just forget about. “I don’t think this is one of those games,” Snyder explained. “We need to understand why it happened, and that’s part of where we are.” He believes understanding the problems and focusing on what makes them successful is crucial. While some bizarre moments can unexpectedly change careers, the Hawks need consistent focus to turn things around.
The players understand how serious the situation is. CJ McCollum pointed to the lack of physicality as a major problem. He said the Celtics were simply “too comfortable.” McCollum stressed that the Hawks need to be more physical and make sure they’re getting close to opposing players.
McCollum described how things spiral out of control when defense fails. When opponents start hitting threes, grabbing offensive rebounds, and scoring in transition, “it’s an avalanche.” He said the team needs to get stops early because better defense leads to better offense. Physical play matters, especially as Wembanyama recently shared his injury status following a hard collision.
The team is dealing with some challenges. They’re still working new players into the rotation, and they haven’t had much practice time since the season started because their schedule has been packed. However, these factors don’t excuse the complete lack of competitive focus during that second quarter.
Published: Jan 18, 2026 01:00 pm