IS Chill too slow...?

[Wretch]

I've defended Chill from day one and I'm always pulling for him. One of the things that I've always been impressed by is his ability to penetrate. Though, watching Chill get one of his shot attempts blocked last night, something popped into my head. It seems to me that Chill gets his shot swatted when going to the basket more frequently than I'm comfortable with.

Is it just me or is anyone else seeing that?

For quite some time, I've argued against the point that he was too slow to adequately defend the 2. But, if it's true, I wonder if that would have anything to do with him not being able to finish? The more I watch him, the more I wonder if he's just not quick enough to get that shot off... Are defenders just hugging him and timing his shot attempt?

Or, being such a fan of his game, am I just paranoid...

[exodus]

Childress is too slow to start in the back court. But as a backup at the 2/3 it isn't as much of an issue.

[tmac13]

I think as far as his offense goes he is fine..Its on the defensive end that Chillz struggles against quick 1's and 2's..He was like all the Hawks last night, just a step slow..

Poor Marvin is the guy to me that gets every other close-in shot swatted away..Woody needs to teach all these young guys a pump fake..Bring in Moses Malone to be an assistant, lol.

[Traceman]

I think he is like a lot of young guys who don't know how to get to a spot, create space and get the shot off in traffic (or when it is contested). As Tmac13 noted, Marvin needs to keep working on that as well. Look at guys like Paul Pierce, Glen Robinson and even JJ. Those guys are good athletes but not next level athletes and yet they always seem to be able to create space to get their shots off. I think both Chillz and Marvin will get it but it may take time for them to figure it out.

[exodus]

Marvin has just been diving into people all year trying to draw fouls. It looks like he hasn't been trying to really finish.

Last game he was just going staight up with it inside instead of trying to draw contact and was much more effective.

[Chillin33]

You guys r so ridiculous. The guy jus came off of an injury so of course hes a step slow. and as far as him getting his shot blocked thats another bogus statement. he gets the most dunks on the hawks team n the half court setting. yes josh smith dunks alot but its usually n the fast break setting and usually when hes alone. J-Chill dunks on people all the time.

and its a difference in guarding 2/3s n the league. last night he was guarding iverson. of course he would look a lil slow against a guy of his caliber. who can stay n front of iverson on a consistent basis. nobody. [censored] jordan couldnt even do it. the thing im saying is that hes not too slow for 2/3s n the league but guarding the guys like lebron, kobe, tmac, etc. once he gets a lil stronger to where he can take a bump from them and not get pushed he will be fine. as far as him staying in front of guys thats not a problem. he never jus gets blown by, that is unless the opposing center sets a screen and The Hawks piece of [censored] of center ZAza is unable to comprehend the concept of stepping up and hedging on the screen.

[Wretch]

Man I hope so...

He seemed to be more of a "wiggler" (and scrambler like Rip) in college. Snaking his way to the basket, stretching his arms out, and finishing off balance. He was obviously quick enough to do that at that level. I'm a bit concerned in the pros though.

Y'know...he's plenty atheletic and very long. So a putback or tip in is nothing to him. I've seen him go up and come down like a hammer plenty of times. Taking guys off the dribble though...or even coming down the lane it's like they're waiting for him.

Maybe your right though. He just needs strength and work on creating space. I think developing a little baby hook would serve him well.

[Wretch]

Well hello there Chillin! Welcome to the Squawk. Great 1st post!

Let me introduce myself. I'm Wretch and Josh Childress is easily my favorite player. I've actually watched Childress since we drafted him, closely, in 90% of all of the Hawks televised games that he's played.

I'm not talking about one shot. I'm talking about seemingly every game where he puts the ball of the floor and takes it into the paint. Not so much in the open court, but in the half court...he gets a shot swatted enough for this fan to be a little nervous. I know because I've been watching just about everything he does on the court...so I can come in and defend him. I've waited for those plays every game for going on 2 years so I can come to the board and say, "Ha ha! Did you see what Chill did!" lol

Lots of times he's gotten it whacked.

[exodus]

Think about how many times Childress has had a man on him on the perimeter and cleanly beaten him off the dribble this year. Hasn't happened often.

He was the slowest wing player tested at the combine the last two years, so obviously speed is an issue. I think that, more than his shot, will be what puts a cap on what he can achieve.

[Chillin33]

This is true but it takes players a while to find themselves n the league. ex. chuancey, elton brand, richard jefferson, kobe, JO, tmac, i can go on and on about players who continue to improve over time. i mean you can even look at mike james. the transition to the pros is very tough. and it took these players which are household names to come into their own and become all-stars. the thing that im trying to get across is that you want players to improve and not be really good at the beginning and not improve. every year you want your players to improve and i think chill has improved.

1. ball-handling

2. consistency

3. fg%

hes improved in 3 major categories n his second year and he will continue to get better

[Traceman]

a bit. He gets a lot of dunks cutting to the basket but he also gets his shot blocked doing that more than any other guy on the team. I think it is more a lack of strength than a lack of quickness. As he gets stronger, I think he will be able to finish more plays in traffic. I don't think he's too slow to play SG against most players either.

As for Zaza, the guy is 21 and being forced to play Center full time when he is as much a PF as a Center. Not only that, he is playing next to an undersized PF. He is doing a FANTASTIC job and he is a STEAL for what the Hawks are paying him. Zaza signed a deal in the same off season as Dalembert, Curry, Chandler and Kwame Brown and an argument can be made that he is outproducing ALL of them while making less than half as much as any of them.

[Chillin33]

what combine are you talking about. hahaha. they did that n the draft but as far as doing it after that i dont think this is accurate and he did jus as well as any other 2/3 guard n the draft in the tests.

quick question

so ur telling me that jj is faster than chill in a foot race. heck no. jj is probably one of the slowest guards n the league, but he is real good with the ball and real crafty wtih getting his shots up. jj is a great player and doesnt have major athleticism. i think ive seen him dunk twice all year and they were all dead ball plays when a foul was called. what im saying is that you dont have to be the fastest player n tests to be affective n the league.

1. jj

2. paul pierce

3. sam cassell

just to name a few players in the league that are slow but able to score and create for themselves. if you watch these guys it looks like they are slow on the court, but somehow they seem to get alot of points

and as far as him beating a player off the dribble. i believe that he can if he wants but the reason he is n the game is to get the team into offense and be respected unlike royal ivey. he jus knows his role on this team right now unlike most players n the league. he knows that he has to be patient.

[exodus]

Quote:

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what combine are you talking about. hahaha. they did that n the draft but as far as doing it after that i dont think this is accurate and he did jus as well as any other 2/3 guard n the draft in the tests.

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Instead of asking you to translate that I will explain it again and hopefully make it clear.

Every year the draft class gets tested at the NBA combine. One of the things they test is speed. Childress was the slowest wing player they tested in 2004 by a wide margin. In fact many of the power forwards tested much faster.

The next year it was the same story. All of the wing players tested faster than Childress did the year before. In fact Andrew Bogut tested only slightly slower than Childress. Sean May, Charlie V, Channing Frye, Ronny Turiaf and Chris Taft all tested faster than Childress and they are power forwards.

[Plainview1981]

I've said this for along time and there was people saying this before me.. In fact, I heard it from those people before even seeing alot of Childress last year. He has slow feet... One reason why he's better as the 6th man than as a starter.

[Weez]

others would argue that he's a better sf than he is a sg...