Hawks practice with simulated MSG noise. Quin Snyder reveals strategy to conquer Madison Square Garden's playoff intensity and boost team communication.
The Atlanta Hawks are gearing up for their first-round matchup against the New York Knicks.
New York comes in as the slight favorite in the series, but the Hawks have momentum on their side, and have been playing some of the best basketball in the NBA since March.
Game one is set for Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With the challenge of a tough road environment comes a different level of preparation.
Hawks' head coach Quin Snyder understands that playing at MSG will be a tough test, so Atlanta is implementing artificial noise during its practices this week to mock what playing at the Knicks home venue will be like.
Snyder was recently asked about playing at MSG, and what some of those challenges are with a raucous Knicks home environment:
"When the crowd is low, whether it's Madison Square Garden, or pick your arena, obviously we know that [that] crowd is vocal and they got great fans. When you're in those situations, communication becomes a premium, and there's different ways you can communicate, whether it's non-verbal. The playoffs in general provide a level of energy. With that, you're passionate about the opportunity where that can be invigorating and that can focus you and challenge you opposed to intimidating you"
It's a bit of word soup from the Hawks' head coach, but the idea is pretty clear: MSG is going to be loud, and Atlanta's players will need to be able to communicate with one another, and the Hawks have the chance this week to mimic that environment they will be entering, and that's what they are doing.
Hawks-Knicks may be one of the more anticipated first-round matches in the NBA playoffs. The teams have played each other very closely all season, and both have star players who will decide the series one way or another.