Potential Sixers Playoff Opponent Atlanta Hawks Hire New Coach

Just days after parting ways with their head coach Nate McMillan, the Atlanta Hawks have found his replacement. According to ESPN, the Hawks have hired Quin Snyder to replace McMillan.

The former Utah Jazz head coach signed with the Hawks on a five-year contract. It will mark the second time that Snyder will run his own team after an eight-year run with the Jazz.

Typically, teams that fire coaches so late in the season are planning for some sort of rebuild. For the Hawks, they hope that Snyder can help the team quickly turn things around and get ready for a playoff push.

At this point in the year, Atlanta holds a 31-30 record, which sits them in the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. While they are on pace for a Play-In spot, that’s not a new position for the Hawks to be in.

Just last season, the Hawks participated in the NBA’s Play In tournament, which helped them notch the eighth seed in the postseason. However, their run ended in the first round of the playoffs, as the Hawks came up short of the top-seeded Miami Heat in five games.

Although the Hawks have underwhelmed, even with notable roster changes, they did just make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals just two playoff runs ago. After upsetting the New York Knicks in round one, the Hawks stunned the Philadelphia 76ers in round two.

While Atlanta came up short against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, it seemed the future was bright as they were a young team. Can Snyder help them get back on track? Only time will tell. While Snyder’s Jazz have made the playoffs in six of the eight seasons he coached them, Utah never made it out of the second round during his tenure.

Either way, the Hawks will be a team to watch for the 76ers. With a little over 20 games left in the season, the East’s playoff picture could look a lot different at the end of the year. And with the Sixers looking to lock in one of the top seeds, there is a chance they could have another playoff series against Atlanta coming their way. This time, it would be without McMillan running show, though.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.