Hawks losing the plot again By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/17/06 In just six days the Hawks have gone from rolling to reeling, a somewhat stunning turn of events for a team that appeared to have finally figured out how to manage late-game situations. But three straight losses, all by five points or less, have a way of eroding any built up swagger. That's why nights like Friday night, when the Utah Jazz come calling at Philips Arena, are so important for a team still attempting to master the NBA's lost art of playing well consistently. "We don't have anything to hang our heads about," Hawks forward Josh Smith said after the latest of those three defeats, a deflating 121-117 double-overtime loss to New York at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. "If we were out there getting run off the floor and somebody was tearing us to pieces then I could understand somebody walking around in a daze. "We're more upset with ourselves than anything, because we know we've done what it takes to win these games and we just haven't finished the job. We've allowed our own mistakes to cost us the ultimate prize by not putting the hammer on people when we should." There's no question the Hawks' season-long struggle with late-game possessions, particularly on offense, has cost them games. Truth be told, they'll have a catalog of "what-not-to-do" moments at the end of games to study. From errant pick-and-roll passes to missed jump shots - which cost them in each of their two road losses this week - the Hawks know well what has ailed them with the game on the line. "With as many times as we've been in these situations you would hope we would be handling them better," said co-captain Joe Johnson, who tweaked his ankle late against the Knicks but is expected to be in the starting lineup tonight. "The missed shots are what they are. That evens itself out. You make some and you miss some. "The turnovers are another story. And that's on me as much as it is anybody because the ball is in my hands most of the time. We've had too many of this situations where we're not getting it done at crunch time. And it's up to us to fix that." How to do that is the $64 million question for the Hawks. Johnson is playing monster minutes night in and night out, he played 57 against the Knicks, and has the triple-barreled responsibility of handling the ball most of the game while leading the team in scoring and assists. "Joe really has been a workhorse for us this year," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I'm always OK with Joe Johnson. The truth is we've had a lot of games [like the ones we've lost in this stretch], maybe not overtime games but we've had a lot of close games. "And I can't fault my guys' effort because it's been there pretty much all year. We've just got to figure out how to make plays at the end of games when we're pretty much our own worst enemy." Like against the Knicks, when it appeared the Hawks had the game under control and then get an eight-second violation for not getting the ball across half court and then throw a pass away trying to post Johnson up on 5-foot-9 Knicks rookie Nate Robinson under the basket. "All we can do is fix our mistakes and try and learn from them," Smith said. "Dwelling on anything else would be a waste of time." 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0317hawks.html --

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