Atlanta Hawks looking to snap out of two-week funk

ATLANTA — 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, the injured Paul Millsap (hip pointer), could make that much of a difference, Budenholzer said in a snap, “No.”

The next night in Toronto, the Hawks were beaten by 44 without the 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 the season 9-2 with a favorable schedule, but have lost nine of the past 10 games, and they are a desperate team.

By the numbers: NBA's top five teams in terms of net rating

“9-2,” said wing man Kyle Korver, “looks like a long time ago.”

Atlanta lost its seventh straight game Monday in a 102-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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 over three years), is averaging 13.7 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. He scored a measly two points in the loss to the Pistons, a game where Budenholzer benched the starting five to start the second half.

GALLERY: HAWKS DOWN 10 SPOTS IN POWER RANKINGS

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 Schröder to Howard, forcing the Hawks had to stand and shoot jump shots — and they are missing. The Hawks are 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.”

And while Schroder, who replaced Jeff Teague as the starting point guard, has solid numbers (15.5 points per game, six assists), the ball sticks in his hand too much. The Hawks built a reputation for ball movement, but the ball does not move as deftly as it did the past 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,” said Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. “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.”

We’ll see about that.

The Hawks, frustrated with the playoff losses to Cleveland, let center Al Horford get away in free agency and they traded away Teague. They signed wing Kent Bazemore to a big deal, but he has struggled shooting (36.9% on field goals, 30.2% on threes).

“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.

Kings' Matt Barnes sought by NYC police over alleged nightclub incident

“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 losing streak was the lack of energy by the starters at home after a 0-4 west coast trip. Where was the urgency? 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 multi-millionaire owner for renovating downtown Philips Arena. After all, Howard was blamed for fracturing the peace in LA and Houston. What else is new?

“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.”