ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are struggling to figure out what happened to the team that won 60 games just two seasons ago.A ballyhooed makeover has quickly bogged down. The offense looks stagnant and confused. The defense is struggling to stop anyone.The Hawks have faded back into NBA purgatory.Since a 9-2 start raised hopes of another strong run in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta has lost seven straight games -- its longest skid since February 2014 -- and 10 of the last 11. More troubling, the Hawks havent been competitive in many of those games.The plummet includes six double-digit defeats, including a 36-point rout at home by Detroit and a 44-point embarrassment at Toronto in back-to-back games.No wonder the Hawks took a bit of hope from their latest setback, a more respectable 102-99 loss to Oklahoma City.A step in the right direction, coach Mike Budenholzer said Tuesday, even while acknowledging this is a little bit of uncharted waters.Budenholzer has already juggled the lineup, making Thabo Sefolosha a starter and benching Kyle Korver. But there are plenty of troubling issues beyond an aging 3-point specialist -- from new center Dwight Howard acclimating to an offense built on motion and making the extra pass, to Kent Bazemore struggling to live up to the huge contract he received this past summer, to Dennis Schroders up-and-down play in his first season as the starting point guard.We started out the season with the right attitude, the right mindset, said Paul Millsap, who is battling a sore hip. Somewhere down the line, we lost track of who we are.Budenholzer was the toast of the league in 2014-15, molding the Hawks into a cohesive unit that was greater than its individual parts. Atlanta ripped off a 19-game winning streak and all five starters shared player of the month, an unprecedented honor.The Hawks claimed the top seed in the East and got past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since moving from St. Louis in 1968. Even though they were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals, this looked like a franchise on the rise.Not anymore.The Hawks had 12 fewer wins last season than they did the year before, and went out meekly in the second round with another sweep by the Cavaliers. That prompted Budenholzer, who inherited total control over personnel matters after the ouster of general manager Danny Ferry for racially charged comments, to decide on a major shake-up.Atlanta doled out $70.5 million to Howard, even though his star had faded in recent seasons, allowing longtime Hawks center Al Horford to bolt for Boston. Budenholzer also traded point guard Jeff Teague to Indiana, handing Schroder the keys to the offense.Those moves raised plenty of eyebrows, as did the $70 million contract for former D-Leaguer Bazemore, but the strong start -- which included an impressive road win at Cleveland -- seemed to justify Budenholzers direction.Then, suddenly, the Hawks fell apart.The schedule surely had something to do with it. Atlantas slide began when the team headed out on the road for seven of eight games, including a West Coast swing. With all that traveling, there was little time to practice between games, which affected the development of the offense more than anything. It didnt help that Millsap missed three games.The Hawks have reached 100 points only two times during their slump.We have to move the ball better a lot better than we have, Howard said.Atlantas next chance to end the streak will be against Miami on Wednesday.Away from the court, the Hawks are taking some major steps. A state-of-the-art practice facility is under construction. Philips Arena will get a nearly $200 renovation. A D-League farm club is planned for a new arena near Atlantas airport.The ownership group expects to see the same sort of progress on the court.Budenholzer grudgingly acknowledges that his offseason moves brought more scrutiny to the teams recent woes, and perhaps made it more difficult to turn things around.Theres a little bit of uniqueness of adding Dennis as the starter, Dwight as a new player, and we havent been together, Budenholzer said. I hope theres enough guys who have been here, been through it, that we can kind of self-correct. But is it maybe a little bit tougher? Could be.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . 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PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Chris Ash is coming into his first season as Rutgers coach knowing that he sure isnt at Ohio State anymore.The Scarlet Knights depth chart isnt very deep and the talent level isnt anywhere close to what he had as the co-defensive coordinator with the Buckeyes.Coaching Rutgers is going to be a challenge. It is coming off a 4-8 record last season with one win in the Big Ten Conference in eight games.Rutgers recent success is a thing of the past. The Scarlet Knights are rebuilding.Got to get back in to football playing shape, Ash said after training camp opened. Were in great conditioning shape from summer work outs, but just like most teams at this time of year, were not in great football shape and we got to play ourselves back into that, but good start.Ash was not as happy after the first preseason practice, so there has been some improvement in recent months.As we continue to go through training camp well have a better feel of our team, our players and our picture will become clearer, Ash said. Its a lot clearer than when we first started, so making progress, but like I said when we first started, but like Ive been saying all along still a long way.Ash has changed almost everything since replacing Kyle Flood. The coaching staff is new, and so are the offense and defense.Weve made a lot of changes to their bodies, but it took seven months to make a lot of those changes, Ash said. We have to change the type of production we get on the field as football players. That doesnt happen on day one.While there are many on-field questions that need to be answered, Ash is pleased that there are no questions abouut his teams off-field behavior.dddddddddddd During last years training camp, Flood was engulfed in an academic scandal while his players were getting arrested.You look at the behavior and you tell me what you see. I see a bunch of guys that want to be coached, that want to excel, that want to do things right, and they want to be good teammates and they want to represent the athletic department, and this state the right way, Ash said. Now they have to continue that, but I like the trend that were on right now.QB QUESTIONOnce again, Rutgers has a quarterback battle between Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig. Ash recently threw TCU transfer Zach Allen into the mix and the battle is expected to go throughout much of camp.D-LINE STRENGTHWhile they replace all three linebackers from last season, Rutgers will rely defensively of their defensive line. The deep unit returns All-Big Ten performer Darius Hamilton, Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Sebastian Joseph. Hamilton is coming off a lower body injury and needed a medical redshirt to return this year.KEY GAMESIf Rutgers wants the Penn State rivalry to become a thing, they have to win a game against the Nittany Lions. Rutgers hosts Penn State on Nov. 19.PREDICTIONIf Ash can somehow win six games and get to a bowl in the loaded Big Ten East, that would be chalked up as a very successful first season. The reality is there was very little in the cupboard and this could be a very long year, even longer than last years 4-8 finish.SEASON OPENERSept. 3 at Washington. ' ' '