Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder knows his team faces an uphill battle in Round 1 of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
The Hawks will travel to TD Garden for Game 1 on Saturday after defeating the Miami Heat in Tuesday's play-in game. They will take on the No. 2 seed Celtics as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Forsberg: Celtics face five burning questions entering 2023 playoffs
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Snyder, who took over for Nate McMillan in February, had nothing but praise for Boston ahead of the series.
“They’re really connected defensively,” Snyder told reporters on Tuesday, as transcribed by MassLive.com. “I think it’s more than them just having like a lot of weapons. I think they have a feel for one another and how they play together. You can see that in the way they play. Their reads are terrific and they got a lot of guys that can make plays and they want to do that for one another. Makes them really, really hard to guard.
“I think their versatility defensively is unique also. Some of the different lineups they can put on. I don’t know who the Defensive Player of the Year will be this year, but I know Marcus Smart — I have tons of respect for him. I just think he’s one of those guys that’s a heartbeat. They’re just really good.”
To Snyder's point, the Celtics defense could be a real problem for the Hawks in the first round. The C's ranked second in defensive rating during the regular season while the Hawks ranked 22nd.
Boston Celtics
Atlanta lost all three of its games against Boston this season. Of course, that means little heading into the playoffs as Miami won three of its four games against Atlanta before falling in the play-in round.
Game 1 between the Celtics and Hawks is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. on Saturday. NBC Sports Boston will have complete coverage of every game in the first round.
You can check out the full schedule below.