USA TODAY International Edition
Hawks stumbling after fast start
When the Detroit Pistons clobbered the Atlanta Hawks by 36 points last week, coach Mike Budenholzer immediately stripped away the alibi for the desultory loss.
Asked if missing one player, Paul Millsap ( hip pointer), could make that much of a difference, he said in a snap, “No.”
The next night in Toronto, the Hawks were beaten by 44 without All- Star Millsap. Budenholzer likely would have had the same answer of being Millsap- less. No excuses allowed.
That’s too bad, because the Hawks have no easy explanations for suddenly looking like a lottery team. Atlanta started 9- 2 with a favorable schedule but had lost 10 of its last 11 games after Monday’s 102- 99 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Hawks are a desperate team.
“9- 2,” wing man Kyle Korver said, “looks like a long time ago.”
So is this where we drape the calamity over Dwight Howard’s broad shoulders? Not quite. Howard, the team’s highest- paid player ($ 23 million), was averaging 13.7 points and 12.8 rebounds going into Monday. He scored two points in the loss to the Pistons, a game in which Budenholzer benched the starting five to start the second half.
But Howard is not the only reason Budenholzer’s fluid offensive system has turned to cement. Opponents have cracked down on the pick- and- rolls from point guard Dennis Schroder to Howard, forcing the Hawks to stand and shoot jump shots, and they are missing. The Hawks were 26th in the NBA in three- point shooting. Remember when they were among the best?
“They are really forcing us to do different things out of the pick and roll,” Howard said. “Teams are rolling three or four bodies at me when I roll to the basket. They are forcing our guards to make plays. It is a little adjustment we have to fix.”
Although Schroder, who replaced Jeff Teague as the starting point guard, has good numbers ( 15.5 points per game, 6.0 assists), the ball sticks in his hand too much. Atlanta built a reputation for ball movement, but the ball doesn’t move as deftly as it did the last two seasons when the Hawks became rock stars for their sharing style.
“Maybe they’ve taken a slight step back on the offensive end because of just trying to make an adjustment to new personnel,” Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I don’t think it will last long, but I think they’ve gained on the defensive end. I think this is one of the real contenders in the East.”
The Hawks, frustrated with the playoff losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers, let center Al Horford get away in free agency and they traded Teague. They signed wing Kent Bazemore to a big deal, but he has struggled shooting ( 36.9% on field goals, 30.2% on three- pointers).
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Bazemore said. “Dennis is the new point guard, so he has the ball a ton, and then we go from playing with a center that can pick and pop to a guy that actually rolls, so there is definitely a learning curve there.
“It’s not a terrible thing to be going through these lulls this early in the season, but you don’t want to put yourself in position where you are scrambling like crazy down the stretch.”
The disturbing part of the streak was the lack of energy by the starters at home after a 0- 4 West Coast trip. The fans were not in any mood for mercy. Some started chanting “Horford, Horford, Horford,” their beloved center for nine seasons.
Howard, meanwhile, almost senses he is going to be blamed for interrupting the three- year affair between the Hawks and the public, which is being asked to fork over $ 142 million to a multimillionaire owner for renovating Philips Arena. After all, Howard was blamed for fracturing the peace in Los Angeles and Houston.
“It doesn’t look good getting blown out by 30 points and losing the way we’ve been losing; neither does it feel good,” Howard said. “It starts with myself that I stay focused and stay positive. We all have to stick together.”