Hawes rejects notion that Clippers don't like each other

NBA.com's David Aldridge mentioned in a column Tuesday that a source placed the Los Angeles Clippers' perceived regression this season on the fact that "they don't like each other."

However, backup center Spencer Hawes - back in uniform after ditching his Christmas suit and returning from nine-game absence due to a knee injury - refuted that. Hawes spoke on L.A. radio station the Beast 980, chalking up talk of chemistry issues to the highs and lows of a long NBA season.

Any team over the course of any season, there's going to be stuff like that. But as far as I'm concerned, this team, off the court, on the court, gets along with each other as well as any that I've been a part of. I think there's a lot of competitive guys, a lot of guys that just want to win. Sometimes you see that side of it, but you don't see the everyday of how we get along with one another.

It could be seen as a pretty cliche answer, but Hawes is a professional athlete, after all. He went on to imply what we all know: winning cures all.

The Clippers are 21-11 going into what should be a win against the New York Knicks Wednesday. That's good for sixth place in the uber-competitive Western Conference. However, they've struggled defensively and are 5-5 in their last 10 games.