Daily Dribble: Hawks in Freefall

January 5, 2010 10:29am CST

Hawks Lose Fourth Straight

Another team-wide cold spell from the floor and lack of effort on the glass led the Atlanta Hawks to their fourth straight defeat on Monday, this time a 92-75 loss in Miami. Led by Joe Johnson's 4-for-15 shooting, the visitors hit only 35.2 percent of their shots. In Friday's home loss to the Knicks, Johnson hit just 12-of-30 shots.

Of course, Johnson was not alone in his struggles. With a mere 11 points on the night, he was the only starter to finish in double digits. Jamal Crawford had 23 points, but shot just 5-of-13 from the field. He hit 12-of-13 free throws to save face. Perhaps the biggest concern is the Hawks were outrebounded 52 to 30 by a Heat squad that ranks 21st in the league in rebounding differential. The Heat even had to start Joel Anthony as Jermaine O'Neal missed the contest with hip and groin injuries.

The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley (who, sadly, is no longer sporting the full afro). Wade committed only one turnover while finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. SuperCoolBeas finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 39 minutes. He spent more time on the floor than any other game this season, except one. He played 41 minutes on New Year's Eve when he finished with 26 points and eight rebounds.

This season, the Hawks' Johnson has not been the Joe Cool we've come to know in the past. He's been critical of his team's effort on many nights following losses and has been particularly harsh on the Hawks home crowd, or lack thereof. JJ turned down a four-year, $60 million deal this past summer, and the 28-year-old is beginning to show the signs of a player who wants to change jerseys. His frustration was shared following Monday's fourth straight loss.

"Unacceptable, how we played tonight," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.

Mike Bibby summed things up by saying, "If we would've put a little more effort in, it would have been a different story."

The Hawks had earned a lot of respect with a 19-6 start and some were believing they had what it takes to contend with the Eastern Conference's elite. They have gone 2-6 since then. Over the next four games they'll face the Celtics twice and the Magic once. That stretch will provide the proper barometer for how competitive these Hawks have truly become.

CP3 Improves to 3-11 Against Deron
Chris Paul stepped his game up late in the fourth quarter and the Hornets managed to preserve their lead in the challenging confines of Salt Lake City to win 91-87. It was just Paul's third victory in 14 career games against Deron Williams. Paul's overall line was just 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and three steals. He was held to 5-of-15 shooting.

Williams delivered 17 points, 11 dimes, three boards, and two steals, but was clearly frustrated following the loss. "We're not playing well together, as a team," said Williams. "We don't have that same continuity, that same consistency, that we've had in the past. It just seems like we're not together right now...We're not taking the right shots. We're passing when we're not supposed to, not passing when we're supposed to. So, it's been frustrating." It was the Jazz's third straight loss and their seventh of their past 11 games.

At 18-16 and a payroll $8 million in excess of the luxury tax, the Jazz are believed to be fielding multiple phone calls in terms of trades. Carlos Boozer is believed to be the hottest topic, making Paul Millsap a shrewd addition to fantasy rosters. Boozer had 18 points and 14 boards in 33 minutes last night while Millsap also registered 33 minutes and finished with six points and 13 rebounds on 3-of-11 shooting.

David West, who's name has also been thrown around plenty in recent trade rumors, continued his strong play with 20 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Over his last nine games he's averaging 21.2 points and 8.8 rebounds (season averages are 17.2 and 7.4, respectively). The Hornets are 6-3 in that stretch

Fastbreak
Kevin Durant's string of 30-point games came to an end at seven as he only scored 25 in the Thunder's 98-85 win over the Bulls. Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Joakim Noah delivered 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls. It was his 16th double-double of the season, tied for ninth best in the league.

The Clippers defeated the Trail Blazers 105-95 last night despite eight turnovers from Baron Davis. Davis also contributed 15 points, nine assists, and three steals. Marcus Camby came up with nine points, 15 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and three blocks. Brandon Roy was held to six points in 40 minutes, and Andre Miller produced 22 points, 16 dimes, and three steals. Martell Webster led all scorers with 25, and the Blazers were forced to start both Jeff Pendergraph and Juwan Howard as injuries continue to mount.

Gilbert Arenas met with detectives and federal prosecutors yesterday. Both sides released lengthy statements and, if nothing else, Arenas has been more than cooperative in the investigation. Some highlights of the story in his favor are the facts the guns were unloaded, team security was aware he had the guns there, he never made any serious threats, and that he sincerely regrets his actions. Of course, he did transport guns across state lines, had them in a public place, and violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by having them in an NBA facility. Stay tuned.

The Pacers are believed to be aggressively shopping T.J. Ford. Ford has been benched the past two games and is out of coach Jim O'Brien's rotation indefinitely.

The Warriors waived Mikki Moore in order to open up a roster spot for recent D-League call up, Chris Hunter.

Roko Ukic asked the Bucks to relieve him from his contract and they obliged. He seems destine to sign with a team in Europe.

Stars in Suits
Pau Gasol is unlikely to play tonight against the Rockets after re-aggravating his hamstring in Sunday's win over the Mavericks. Gasol missed the first three weeks of the season due to the same injury. Ron Artest is questionable tonight to return from his concussion.

Carmelo Anthony is hopeful he can play through his bruised knee in tonight's game against the Warriors. However, he did add that the injury is "worse than everybody expected." Chauncey Billups remains out with a groin injury. Chris Andersen will miss at least a week of action with a sprained left ankle. The Nuggets front line is already thin and his absence will be felt in the win column.

The Raptors are expected to limit Jose Calderon's minutes upon his return on Wednesday and could continue starting Jarrett Jack at point guard. He has missed 12 of the last 13 games with a hip injury.

Flip Saunders says that Mike Miller will return by Friday at the latest. He has missed a month with a strained calf injury.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce both continued to sit out practice on Monday. Both players are dealing with knee injuries.

Manu Ginobili claims an unknown illness is causing him to lose sleep lately. Other Spurs, including Tony Parker, Matt Bonner, and Marcus Haislip have reported similar symproms of late.

Francisco Garcia has returned to practice for the Kings after breaking his wrist three months ago. He is likely out until at least late this month.