Quin Snyder Previews Tomorrow's Matchup With The Pistons + Talks About Detroit's Growth This Season

The Atlanta Hawks lost a tough game on Thursday night against the Orlando Magic, but they have to put that loss behind them quickly. Atlanta will host the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, the fourth matchup of the season between the two teams. Detroit has been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season and they are 2-1 against the Hawks this season. If Atlanta wants to have any hope of catching the Pistons, who are No. 6 in the Eastern Conference heading into the game, Sunday is probably a must win.

When talking with the media after practice on Saturday, Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder talked about the matchup with the Pistons and the first thing he was asked about was how to slow down Malk Beasley, who has been one of the NBA's best bench players this season. Beasley has scored at least 18 points off the bench in each of the three matchups between the two teams and Snyder talked about how difficult it is to slow him down:

"I think he stays hot. His percentages are around the tops in the league and I think the most important thing is to try and limit his attempts. And then, there is an adjustment when you are on him and it requires a lot of concentration, not just for him, but for the other four guys on the floor because they can be lost in action or transition or switches so it has to be a collective effort."

When it comes to the job that Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff has done this season, Snyder could not have been more complementary of what they have accomplished so far:

"He has done a terrific job. I think it starts with their mentality defensively, not just in Cade's leadership but JB empowering him to do that. For a coach, anytime that you get a couple of guys that have a knowledge of the league, it can reallly help. They have been playing this way for the whole year and they have gotten better as the year progresses and that is a credit to JB and the job that he has done."

It is safe to say that the first game after the All-Star break did not go the Hawks way and they would love to get a win tomorrow vs Detroit. There are only 26 games left and every one of them count for a Hawks team looking to get back into the postseason.