Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson is in awe of the Atlanta Hawks' incredible comeback in Game 5 of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers, and he knows exactly how they pulled it off.
After witnessing how the Hawks' erased a 22-point halftime deficit to win 109-106, Johnson praised Nate McMillan for guiding his team on how to perfectly execute the Hack-a-Shaq strategy on Ben Simmons. According to the Lakers champion, it was what turned the game around and shifted the momentum in their favor.
Simmons shot 4-of-14 from the free-throw line, and one could truly argue that had he made those freebies, the Sixers would have won. In fact, one could say it wouldn't have been close as the Hawks would not be able to stage a comeback bid.
Give Hawks Coach Nate McMillan a lot of credit he did the hack-a-Shaq on Ben Simmons to send him to the free throw line and it fueled the Hawks comeback.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 17, 2021
For what it's worth, the Hawks are not the first team to use such strategy. The Washington Wizards also did the same on Ben Simmons in their first-round showdown, and while it did work for a while, it was not enough to take down Philly.
However, the Hawks are proving to be a different team. While they are the lowest-seeded squad remaining in the East, they have only used that underdog mentality to eke out gritty wins in the process. As Magic Johnson implied, they are outsmarting the Sixers and taking advantage of every weakness they see–which is paying off big time.
The former Lakers exec, however, is not only putting the blame on Simmons. After all, Joel Embiid himself failed to hit the baskets they needed the most–the most crucial of which were his two bricked free throws with 10 second left that would have given the Sixers a chance to have another shot for an equalizer or game-winner.
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