Led by Kevin Huerter, Atlanta Hawks' total team effort lands them in East finals

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To win a championship, it takes a complete team effort.

Well, in a 103-96 Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks got a total team effort to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Five of the nine Hawks who appeared in Game 7 scored in double figures, led by third-year guard Kevin Huerter, who contributed a team-high 27 points.

Huerter's performance was much needed with the Hawks' starting backcourt of Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic struggling to score through the majority of the game.

Young endured a rough, 5-for-23 shooting night, and Bogdanovic, battling through a knee injury, scored just four points while shooting 2-for-8 from the field.

For the season, Bogdanovic averaged 16.4 PPG, but his knee injury rendered him relatively ineffective and limited him to just 21 minutes in Game 7.

Enter Danilo Gallinari.

The veteran forward came off the bench to produce 17 big points for the Hawks, picking up the slack for Bogdanovic.

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And while Young didn't turn in his best shooting night, he held up his end of the bargain in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 21 points to repay his teammates for keeping Atlanta afloat through the first three quarters.

Young finished with 21 points and 10 assists, displaying the poise and playmaking ability that made him an All-Star in 2020.

The Hawks' strength in numbers, after all, has been the story of their season. Eight of their current rotation players averaged double figures in the regular season.

They have also proven that the sum of their parts is greater than the individual pieces, as they reached the Eastern Conference finals despite not having a single player named to the All-NBA teams.

To make this team effort even more impressive, the Hawks did it without starting small forward De'Andre Hunter, who was lost to a meniscus injury in the first round of the playoffs.

Now, with all hands on deck, the Hawks are advancing to the East finals for the first time since 2015.

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