{"id":336705,"date":"2011-03-25T00:05:19","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T00:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/25\/slumping-hawks-on-verge-of-unraveling-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-25T00:05:19","modified_gmt":"2011-03-25T00:05:19","slug":"slumping-hawks-on-verge-of-unraveling-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/25\/slumping-hawks-on-verge-of-unraveling-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Slumping Hawks on verge of unraveling? (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ATLANTA (AP)\u2014The playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks<\/a> appear to be unraveling as
\nthey continue to get pounded at an historic pace.<\/p>\n

They say they have become disjointed, too often playing as individuals
\ninstead of as a team.<\/p>\n

As a result, Atlanta has been blown out at home more often than any team
\nwith a winning record in NBA history. The Hawks have suffered five home losses
\nby 20 or more points, including three by more than 30 points. Each ranks as the
\ntop total in NBA history for teams with winning records, according to STATS,
\nLLC.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s little wonder Atlanta\u2019s first-year coach Larry Drew this week said his
\nplayers \u201chave got to heal, more so mentally than physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

They need to find the cure quickly.<\/p>\n

The Hawks (40-32) have lost 14 of their last 21 games and are losing their
\nfooting in the Eastern Conference playoff during the freefall.<\/p>\n

Drew called his team \u201ca little fragile right now\u201d before Wednesday night\u2019s
\n105-100 loss at Philadelphia. He said he can\u2019t explain why his players seem to
\nfall apart when other teams make big runs, especially at the Hawks\u2019 home court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve been preaching it seems like every day this month,
\nabout how to respond to runs,\u201d Drew said. \u201cThis game is a game of runs. Teams
\nmake runs. You make runs. You respond to it and we just don\u2019t respond to it well
\nat all. It looks like we lose interest, lose confidence. We just don\u2019t handle it
\nwell.\u201d<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t handle it well against Chicago Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

The Hawks trailed the Bulls by 47 before losing by 33, 114-81. Other notably
\nlopsided home losses included a 100-59 loss to New Orleans on Jan. 21 and a
\n117-82 loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody on this team knows their role,\u201d guard Joe Johnson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said.
\n\u201cEverybody on this team knows what we have to do to win. Yet still we don\u2019t
\ncome out and do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a team that sits here in this locker room and talk all the time
\nabout what we want to do and what we need to do. Then we go out on the floor and
\ndo things that are out of our character or that\u2019s not within ourselves. It makes
\nus all look bad. Until we get that part of the game down, then we\u2019re going to
\ncontinue to look bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

No winning team has ever looked worse.<\/p>\n

The previous mark for home losses by at least 30 points for a team with a
\nwinning record was two, held by the 1969-70 Baltimore Bullets and 1970-71 Boston
\nCeltics<\/a>, according to STATS, LLC. The record for most home losses of 20 or more
\npoints by a team with a winning record was four by the 2004-05 New Jersey Nets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Johnson said \u201ccountless\u201d players-only meetings this season \u201chave meant
\nnothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their struggles, the Hawks need just one win to clinch a playoff
\nspot. But they don\u2019t look much like a playoff team.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re currently mired in a slump that includes a 4-8 record in March,
\nassuring their first losing month since January, 2009. It ends a team-record
\nstreak of 15 consecutive months at .500 or better.<\/p>\n

Atlanta finds itself trying to hold off sixth-place Philadelphia, which is
\njust 2 1\/2 games behind the Hawks.<\/p>\n

Inconsistency at point guard\u2014led Hawks general manager Rick Sund to trade
\nMike Bibby<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and two other players to Washington on Feb. 23 for Kirk Hinrich<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and
\nbackup forward Hilton Armstrong<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> Bibby\u2019s numbers were declining as a starter in
\nAtlanta, but since his exit the Hawks\u2019 struggles have only grown.<\/p>\n

Johnson made his fifth straight All-Star team this year, but his scoring is
\ndown after five straight seasons over 20 points per game. His 18.6 average is
\nhis lowest since the 2004-05 season, his last with Phoenix.<\/p>\n

But Johnson said Atlanta\u2019s problems can\u2019t be measured by statistics.<\/p>\n

He said the Hawks lack \u201ca sense of pride, a sense of urgency. \u2026 We should
\nplay for one another, but yet still we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though Atlanta\u2019s core group has been together for four years, Al
\nHorford<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>\u2014who made his second straight All-Star team\u2014said \u201cWe\u2019re really
\ntrying to find ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to be mentally stronger,\u201d Horford said.<\/p>\n

Forward Josh Smith<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said the players didn\u2019t help each other in the loss to
\nthe Bulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you don\u2019t help each other, it gets contagious,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe
\njust didn\u2019t show any kind of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drew has tried juggling his lineup. He has benched small forward Marvin
\nWilliams<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to make room for center Jason Collins<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> in a bigger lineup. He has tried
\nJeff Teague<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> as the starting point guard.<\/p>\n

Drew said this week he is sticking with Hinrich with Johnson in the
\nbackcourt and a front line of Williams, Horford and Smith.<\/p>\n

The clock is ticking for the players to right themselves before the
\nplayoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See more here:
\nSlumping Hawks on verge of unraveling? (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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