Childress likely to return vs. Jazz (AJC)

[Plastic Man]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 12/20/06

The first dunk was a soaring, one-handed jam in traffic that had all his teammates jumping around and excited. The second was a sweet, two-handed baseline job to finish off yet another drill in Tuesday's practice.

It's been a while since the Hawks have had Josh Childress flying around, 16 games to be exact. But Childress appears to be ready to return to action, Wednesday night against Utah at Philips Arena, after sitting out the past month with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

"I've had two good days of practice, so I can kind of get a feel for if it's sore or not," said Childress, who averaged career highs in points (13.3) and rebounds (6.4) through the first seven games of the season. "I'm going to go through shootaround [this morning] as if I'm playing and then make a decision around game time. But I'm feeling good right now."

As is Hawks coach Mike Woodson after watching Childress in practice the past two days.

"There's a strong possibility we'll have him back, and that's a good thing," he said. "He looks pretty darn good out there."

Veteran point guard Tyronn Lue, the Hawks' second-leading scorer (14.7), is expected to miss his second straight game with a strained groin. Lue did not practice Tuesday, and Woodson said he was unsure when Lue would return.

[DrReality]

Got my fingers crossed. Getting him back would be a huge addition.

[TheDude]

me too. just hope he's not rushing it.

[gsuteke]

a. how could his conditioning be up to snuff after only 2 days of practice? i'm assuming the boot has been off for only a week or so.

b. isn't it amazing how a third year player like Chillz that really doesn't have a position and doesn't do anything in particular particlarly well has such a big affect on the team?

what was the Hawks record when Chillz went down?

[jerrywest]

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a. how could his conditioning be up to snuff after only 2 days of practice? i'm assuming the boot has been off for only a week or so.

b. isn't it amazing how a third year player like Chillz that really doesn't have a position and doesn't do anything in particular particlarly well has such a big affect on the team?

what was the Hawks record when Chillz went down?

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4-3, with two games lost in the last second with Ray Allen and Redd's heroics. One game won in overtime against the Cavs.

Except for the first quarter of the first game, we were competitive in the other 6+3/4 games.

I think stress fractures are not recurring problems after they heal. Conditioning may be a problem though. However, we don't need to push him for too many minutes today. Just him being there will take our collective energy level to a whole different level.

[gsuteke]

and it will put both Salim and Bozo on the bench.

btw maybe Ivey will start to contribute. that would be nice. he does some things the Hawks need out there for short periods of time, like play defense, play some more defense, and by the way he could play some defense.

[TheDude]

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and it will put both Salim and Bozo on the bench.

btw maybe Ivey will start to contribute. that would be nice. he does some things the Hawks need out there for short periods of time, like play defense, play some more defense, and by the way he could play some defense.

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you forgot the defensive contributions he provides. not to mention his work defensively.

[jerrywest]

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and it will put both Salim and Bozo on the bench.

btw maybe Ivey will start to contribute. that would be nice. he does some things the Hawks need out there for short periods of time, like play defense, play some more defense, and by the way he could play some defense.

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you forgot the defensive contributions he provides. not to mention his work defensively.

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and how much he covers up our inside defense deficiency and keeps the opposing defense honest by keeping Bozemon off the floor.

[Dragitoff]

Maybe I've missed the games, but has Bozeman shown us anything on either end of the court? I know all the talk was he was a great defender and a big PG who could run the team. I haven't really seen anthing impressive from him while he was on the floor. Ivey, on the other hand, seems to be a little more aggressive on the offensive end and he's always been able to play defense as it's been said a time or two before....

[exodus]

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but has Bozeman shown us anything on either end of the court?

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no

[gsuteke]

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Maybe I've missed the games, but has Bozeman shown us anything on either end of the court? I know all the talk was he was a great defender and a big PG who could run the team. I haven't really seen anthing impressive from him while he was on the floor. Ivey, on the other hand, seems to be a little more aggressive on the offensive end and he's always been able to play defense as it's been said a time or two before....

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he's a rookie. he's got good height for a PG. he missed a tremendous amount of time at UCLA due to a devestating injury. he has some upside.

[Dragitoff]

he's a rookie. he's got good height for a PG. he missed a tremendous amount of time at UCLA due to a devestating injury. he has some upside.

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Bump upside, we need whoever is producing on the court NOW! Send him and his upside to the NBDL. He can dominate there or suck there, whichever he's gonna' do. I'm glad everyone's getting healthy so we can go with our best squad and see what this team can really do. I love rooting for the underdog, but I just see Royal Ivey pt. 2 in Bozeman. He's very passive on the court and doesn't bring anything right now. He might in a year or two, but I see him as a 3rd string PG at best.

[gsuteke]

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he's a rookie. he's got good height for a PG. he missed a tremendous amount of time at UCLA due to a devestating injury. he has some upside.

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Bump upside, we need whoever is producing on the court NOW! Send him and his upside to the NBDL. He can dominate there or suck there, whichever he's gonna' do. I'm glad everyone's getting healthy so we can go with our best squad and see what this team can really do. I love rooting for the underdog, but I just see Royal Ivey pt. 2 in Bozeman. He's very passive on the court and doesn't bring anything right now. He might in a year or two, but I see him as a 3rd string PG at best.

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you are preaching to the choir Reverend. however the problem is Woody has to play Bozo because he doesn't have any better options right now.

this team is still a year away from running a strong 10 man squad out there.

[Dragitoff]

Here's a good 10 man squad, heck it's a good 11 man squad

Speedy/Lue

JJ/Slim

Marvin/Chillz

Smoove/Shelden

ZaZa/Lo/SoLo

Right now, I'd rate Solomon Jones higher than Wright, but for nostalgia's sake, I'll swap them. Seriously, that's the best rotation we've had in a VERY LONG time.

[DJlaysitup]

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...Right now, I'd rate Solomon Jones higher than Wright, but for nostalgia's sake, I'll swap them. Seriously, that's the best rotation we've had in a VERY LONG time.

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I agree LoW hasn't done much for us this year as one of our FA acquisitions - but he did do more in the OT game with Chicago the other night. If he can play more like that he won't be a waste. Solomon will get very limited play but should be learning as much/more in practice with the real NBA players as he would be down scrapping with the NBDL wannabees.

[Dragitoff]

I think Lo does bring alot to the locker room. Having he and Lue around the kids is probably worth their salaries even if they don't contribute. I didn't get to see the Chicago game, but it is good to hear he had a nice contribution even if in a losing effort. I hope he can get it on track.