By James Carr
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks took a beating against the Miami Heat on Sunday night, losing 107-87 on their home court in a game that wasn't close after 10 minutes.
The problem, however, isn't just the wide margin of defeat. The problem is how the Hawks deal with the severe lack of energy amid a brutal stretch in the schedule: Atlanta plays just two teams currently not in the playoff standings during the month of February.
"My biggest concerns are the two things we talked about before the game," said coach Larry Drew, trying to make sense of the performance. "We have to play with energy and we have to give super effort. And in the first half our energy just wasn't there. Why it wasn't there, I don't know.
"I don't know what caused it. A game like this, it shouldn't take much to be motivated to play in a game like this. It's a big stage, you're playing against a team that's predicted to win it all, you're playing against three of the top players in this league, it's a nationally televised game, I mean, you can't get motivated to play under those circumstances, nothing gets you motivated."
This is a big problem for the Hawks, who are about to embark on a 10-day road trip. If the team lacked energy now, how will it handle the next stretch of games against the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Bulls and Jeremy Lin?
"We're still trying to find out what's happening with our energy," Drew said, perplexed by the mercurial nature of his team.
Joe Johnson was less bothered by the team's performance. While acknowledging the team definitely could have played a lot harder, the shortened schedule doesn't leave much time for reflection.
"We don't have no time to hang our head, we just gotta regroup, throw this game out the window and regroup," Johnson said.
More importantly, the Hawks can't afford to hang their heads the next time a game starts to slip away. If the Hawks are serious about making a deep playoff run, they can't be a team known for wilting under pressure.
But the Hawks may already have that reputation around the league. When Shane Battier was asked whether he was surprised by the Hawks' effort, Battier simply replied, "No."
One player's response does not mark a team's fate, but one thing is clear: it's do or die time for the Hawks. A strong performance on this road trip will answer a lot of questions about the Hawks' makeup. If Drew can figure out how to harness the Hawks' energy woes then they can indeed throw this game out the window.
If not, the Hawks could be in for the same story that's been read for the past two seasons.
