Quin Sneijder praises Mohamed Gueye’s ‘hungry’ game

ATLANTA, Ga. – Just a day before, c Atlanta Hawks were coming off a game in which they had a strong first half, but fell in the second. They had to come back a day later to play the Los Angeles Lakers, and things couldn’t get any worse a few hours before the game because Jaylen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis and Nikhil Alexander-Walker are out.

Some would think that would be a tall order for the Hawks to get into the game, but it wasn’t. It was night and day from start to finish on both sides of the ball, and in the end it was the Hawks cruised to a 122-102 victory with a modest list. While it was a collective group effort, it was the Mohamed Gueye show for the Hawks as he made everything from making key stops to knocking down shot after shot.

Over the past two seasons, Gueye has shown himself to be a solid rotation player in the league, and entering this season, he has had consistent play.

“Mo has been good for us all year,” Dyson Daniels said after the game. “For him to come in and do his role, and be really versatile defensively, switch one-on-five, shoot the ball really well. He’s a really talented player, and his ceiling is something that nobody can really predict. I’m excited to see where he can go.”

“I think he’s become more and more instinctive,” the head coach Quinn Snyder he said. “He’s kind of settled in; the game is slower for him offensively. Defensively, he’s unique in his versatility. I don’t think it’s magic; he’s been hungry. He wants to get better and he’s put in the time. With a game like tonight, he gets even more opportunity to do that.”

For Gueie to come in and have a big game with most of the frontcourt helped the Hawks get a comfortable win against a good team.

“I’m always confident. Obviously, tonight, without JJ and KP, I had to be extra aggressive, and I think I did that,” Gueie said. “And we just do what we do. Run, tempo; our offense is run-based, and I’m pretty good at running, so they found me wide open.”

The Hawks have a big third quarter to beat the Lakers

The Hawks controlled the game from the start, coming out and running, which the Lakers don’t do much. In defense, they managed to restrain Luka Dončić and keep the players around him under control. Gueie was the center of attention of the night, but players such as And Deason Daniels played welland he finished with a record 13 assists.

“I’m just trying to get two feet into the paint, find my teammates. A big emphasis for us before the game was to take our eyes off and shoot the ball. I got my eyes, Asa (Newell) came in and hit some big shots, Moe was shooting, Keaton (Walls). Everybody really stepped up today.”

Speaking of Newell, he got minutes when most of the frontcourt was out, and every minute was worth it. Whether he was getting steals with his active hands, knocking down open threes or crashing the boards, he was a big part of the win.

“I’m a gym rat. I always stay in the gym,” Newell said. “I’ve always put in the extra work, and it showed tonight when the next man up, and I had a chance. It’s a great feeling that my teammates and the coaching staff have faith in me.”

There shouldn’t be many nights like this when the Hawks are missing this many players, but you should feel good knowing they have players ready to step in at any moment and produce.