PORTLAND, Ore.--Before this road trip began the Hawks might have viewed their game at Chicago Monday as a chance to see how they measure up against the Eastern Conference leader.
That was before the Hawks lost two of the first three games on the trip. Save for one good half during that stretch, Atlanta struggled to generate consistent scoring and defend opponents with quality size in the frontcourt.
The Hawks (19-12) have lost six of their past nine games by an average margin of 14.5 points. The Grizzlies, Heat and Blazers blew them out and the Lakers wore them down.
It's tough for the Hawks to think about whether they are in Chicago's class under those circumstances.
“I've got more things to worry about right now,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said after Atlanta's 97-77 loss to the Blazers late Saturday.
The Hawks appeared lifeless while suffering their third defeat of at least 20 points. Portland was playing its fourth game in five nights while Atlanta didn't play on consecutive days for the first time this season.
It was hard to tell.
“I thought we were a step slow on pretty much everything,” Drew said.
The Hawks matched Portland's hot shooting early but eventually their shots stopped falling. Portland kept making jumpers or collected their misses for extra chances. There were long stretches when the Blazers, who had 15 offensive rebounds, consistently jarred balls loose from the Hawks and beat them in the scrambles to collect them.
“The bounces weren't going our way but that's when we have to be a little bit more desperate,” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “They were making shots early on. Then we played some good defense and we gave up long rebounds. That's when we have to gang rebound.”
Portland had an 50-27 edge on the boards. Smith and center Zaza Pachulia each had 10 rebounds but the rest of the Hawks combined for just seven.
“A lot of it is on the guards,” Hawks guard Joe Johnson said. “We have to come down and help the ‘bigs.' There was a lot of long rebounds.”
The Hawks have played only one complete half of basketball in the past three games. After the Suns carved up their defense in the first half and took an 18-point lead, the Hawks rallied to win 101-99 behind a sustained defensive effort and a superlative performance from Smith.
But they struggled to score inside against the Lakers 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol and missed several layups in an 86-78 loss Tuesday. The Hawks had the same problem against Portland big men Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge.
“They are long and athletic like us but a little longer,” Smith said. “When you get into that paint you have to be a distributor and drop some of those passes off. That way they will be reluctant to contest the shots and that's when you have your easy running floaters or your layups," Smith said. “The first quarter we moved the basketball around and get easy looks for each other. After that first quarter, that was kind of nonexistent.”
The Hawks will try to figure out their offensive issues against the Bulls, the top defensive team in the league. Chicago (25-8) boasts Joakim Noah and Omer Asik, both strong interior defenders, and smother weak ball movement with their aggressive scheme.
Bulls star guard Derrick Rose, out the past five games with back spasms, is questionable to play Monday. The Bulls are 7-3 without Rose this season in large part because they are so deep with good defenders.
The Hawks blew an 18-point lead while losing 76-74 in Chicago Jan. 4. They dominated the Bulls for a 109-94 victory at Philips Arena Jan. 7 but that was with All-Star center Al Horford, who is out until at least mid-April with an injury.
After an initial surge in the wake of Horford's injury, the Hawks are showing signs of fading.
“It's tough for everybody,” Johnson said. “You look around the league, a lot of teams are banged up, a lot of teams are depleted and don't have some of their key players. But that's part of it. Some nights we look great, some nights we don't. Hopefully at Chicago we will look great. We'll see.”
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