Hawks guard Trae Young faces a fine and a possible suspension after being ejected from today’s game for firing the ball at an official (video link), writes Charles Odum of The Associated Press. Young was apparently upset over a technical he received seconds earlier after being whistled for sticking out his leg to draw contact on a three-point shot. During a timeout, Young threw the ball hard at referee Scott Wall, who caught it and then tossed Young out of the game.
“It’s just a play he can’t make,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I told him that. He knows it.”
The technicals brought Young’s total for the season to 15, which is one short of an automatic suspension. With Atlanta fighting for playoff seeding at 37-37, a one-game absence for its leading scorer could be critical.
Snyder said Young admitted a lapse in judgment, adding, “There wasn’t a single part of him that tried to rationalize what happened.”
There’s more from Atlanta:
- Snyder has only been the Hawks’ coach for about a month, but he believes the players are buying into his philosophy, per Lauren Williams of The Journal-Constitution. Snyder’s priority after taking over in late February was to instill an emphasis on defense. “I think we’re just trying to continue to emphasize certain habits defensively, that I think we saw some progress and some of those just everything that we can do to help us protect the paint,” he said, “beginning with getting back on defense and having a wall where they see bodies through a possession, or pick up points, people getting into bodies and being blocked, not getting beat in the middle, or we can help each other getting hits on the boards or protect the paint that way.”
- Garrison Mathews, who was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline, asked Snyder what he needs to do to get more playing time, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com. Mathews has only appeared in five games with Atlanta and is averaging 7.6 minutes per night. Snyder said his status is a result of circumstances, but added, “He’s a tough player. You can always use tough players.”
- De’Andre Hunter missed today’s game with a left knee contusion, Williams tweets. His status for Sunday’s contest against Memphis hasn’t been announced.
More must-reads: