The losses mount, one heavy defeat after another.
The NBA season is not quite to its halfway point and already the Hawks find themselves 20 games under .500.
Some defeats wound a tad more than other, ones like the Hawks’ 108-107 loss to the depleted Clippers Monday on a last-second 3-pointer by a relatively anonymous rookie.
The Hawks fell to 10-30 on the season, the league’s worst record, and an unsightly 3-19 on the road. A trying time for any team, though the Hawks maintain they are not overwhelmed mentally, still fighting the good fight.
“I think we’ve handled it well,” guard Kent Bazemore said. “We’ve had a couple clunkers. Every team does. Other than that, we’ve showed up every night ready to play.”
Not all losses are created equally, and Monday’s may have stung more than most. The Hawks trailed by 15 points in the second quarter, only to rally in the second half and lead by as many as seven.
But the final basket would not drop. Not for Bazemore, whose six consecutive points had the Hawks up 105-100 with 1:41 to play. Not for Taurean Prince, whose 15-footer fell short.
“They just made a few more plays down the stretch,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I’d like for our guys to have some success an experience a reward at the end of the day, but I think the way we played in the second half we can build off.”
Heads were hung low in the postgame locker room, though the Hawks maintained their spirits are far from crushed by the constant losing.
“It’s positive,” guard Dennis Schroder said. “It’s frustrating to lose, these close ones. But mentally we just got to be strong, stay together. We ain’t got nothing to lose this year. Every game we try to get better for the future.”
While struggling with games that were there for the taking, and still slipped away.
“Lady Luck isn’t with you sometimes,” Bazemore said. “This game will beat you up but you have to find ways to come back. We played really hard. We got a couple guys back tonight. (Mike) Muscala played extended minutes, Dewayne Dedmon played extended minutes. Malcolm Delaney was good for us. We’ve got the pieces but tonight kinda stings.”
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