Offensive issues continue to plague Hawks as free fall continues

The numbers are not pretty.

With Atlanta's 128-84 crushing at the hands of the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, the Hawks have now lost six in a row and nine of 10. Their last two defeats have come by an average of 40 points, the worst back-to-back losses in franchise history.

The Hawks, who were tied for first in the Eastern Conference on Nov. 17, are now in ninth place and under .500 for the first time since Oct. 27, 2015.

Atlanta was without power forward Paul Millsap for the third straight game Saturday, but the team's offensive struggles predate his hip injury. Since Nov. 18, the Hawks are dead last in the NBA in offensive rating and true shooting percentage, and the only teams to have worse net ratings are the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets.

The Hawks appear unable or unwilling to adjust to opponents' defensive switches on the pick-and-roll, and the up-tempo style of new starting point guard Dennis Schroder has led to added consequence of Atlanta having the second-highest turnover rate in the NBA this season - 17 per game, second only to the Philadelphia 76ers (Schroder leads the way with three giveaways per contest).

With Millsap shelved for the moment, the Hawks are also failing to get production from the likes of Kent Bazemore and, more recently, Dwight Howard. Bazemore - who signed a four-year, $70-million contract over the summer - has showed no real improvement across the board, and is shooting below 38 percent from the floor on the season with a sub-12 PER.

While mostly holding up his end on defense, Howard has been a non-factor offensively over the last two games, scoring 12 total points on only 13 field-goal attempts.

The Hawks have not missed the postseason since 2006-07, when their top players were Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. The team returns home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday and the Miami Heat on Wednesday.