Box Score of Game 4: Vs Memphis

[Nicholasp27]

http://www.nba.com/games/20041020/MEMATL/boxscore.html

[clrumph]

Two things stand out:

1) Childress is really struggling (0 pts in 17 mins). He is definitely not ready to start in the NBA in my opinion.

2) What's going on with Diaw? He only played five minutes (0 pts), does anyone know if he got hurt today? If not it looks like he is not winning the confidence of the new coaching staff.

I know some you guys are optimistic about Childress and Diaw but don't bury your heads in the sand either, they are not playing well at all right now. They must start playing a lot better to justify their selection over other players taken later in their respective drafts. (See my post from yesterday)

[emeans]

You are right....Josh Childress has had time to show something. They have played 4 preseason games, numerous Summer League games and he has done absolutely nothing warranting the 6 pick in this draft.

At least show me some light at the end of the tunnel. I am starting to think this was a bad pick. And don't talk about this is a rookie and it takes a lot of time. Deng is lighting it up. Snyder is lighting it up. J.R. Smith is lighting it up. Jameel is starting to show signs of why he was the college player of the year. Howard is playing strong. But Childress??? His jump shot is horrible and he is getting playing time and he is not out of high school!!

He is really disappointing me.

[capstone21]

It is still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to early to give up on the guy. He will find his game. I hear he has been playing solid d though.

[Nicholasp27]

if he's playing solid D, then that is what the coach cares about...he'll get comfortable on offense with playing time

and remember, not every rookie comes out playing like lebron, melo, wade, ford, bosh, hinrich, etc

most rookies take 2-3 years to become starter quality on a good team...

[jceasar]

JS Fan, the Hawks coaching staff is from the old school. Rookies generally don't get to showcase themselves very often. Josh would not be playing if there was a vet who could adequately replace him.

The offense is clearly designed for Al and Walker, not Josh. He is simply playing within the structure outlined by the coaching staff. If he's called upon to score more, I'm sure you will see his numbers increase.

I'm sure your a true student of the game but your comparisons to JR Smith and other rookies are really offbase.

JR Smith plays with one of the best penatrators in the league in BD. BD drives the lane, the defense collapses and JR is left with a wide open jump shot. I'd bet you would score 20 a game if all you had to do was catch and shoot uncontested. Unfortunately, Josh doesn't have the luxury of playing with BD. I'm sure you've also noticed that he is tasked with the leak out player in transition situations making it dificult for him to play below the 3 point line, which reduces the chance for higher percentage scoring situations.

Luol Deng is playing on a much younger team with no one who demands the ball as much as Walker or Harrington. Who's the go to guy on the Bulls? They don't have one. It's much easier to score when you have the green light to shoot the ball.

I agree with you in that Josh has not done anything that merits highlight reel consideration, however he is not doing as bad as you've lead on to believe. Your expectations of granduer may not fit in with the team philosophy.

Remember we are in the preseason. Everyone on this team is trying to establish their roles. As a rookie sometimes you have to remain humble, bite your lip and wait your turn.

[deester11]

I think that it's way too early to be bashing Josh C., and it's not hard to score if you only take one shot, but we're all going to have to deal with the ups and downs that are going to be inevitable. I think that I would be happy to see the development of the young guys more than a few wins that aren't meaningful. I haven't been outwardly impressed this preseason, but I think that overall this team is displaying what it will be this year. Walker and Harrington are going to make this team go and we have little else for the moment. Here's hoping that J.Smith and J.Childress grow up quite a bit though.

[Weez]

Riddle me this: right now, given team, would you want Barry or Chill starting?

yes, Chill has struggled the majority of the time this preseason in terms of scoring. While showing a greater propensity for scoring than Diaw, he has had difficulty 'fitting in' in comparison to his Stanford team, where after two years of 'glimpses,' he was forced to the forefront of being 'the man' and rose aptly to the challenge.

Now...he's struggling to find his groove, a place where he wants to be a team player, yet must remember that there are times when he still needs to play like 'the man.'

I think we have to start Chill (under the assumption that Diaw will spell some time at the point). Barry's ability to come in and hit the longball, energize the defense/intensity, and 'ability' to have limited minutes if we want him to last...say chill starts, learns the games as he goes, and contributes to Toine and Al having bigger scoring nights...

[KBatPCSOM]

Josh Childress needs to start because the team needs his length on the perimeter defensively. Coach Woodson isn't alarmed by Childress's offensive struggles at this time. While the consistent effort isn't there, Woodson wouldn't be playing Childress if he wasn't playing good defense.

[Diesel]

I like Barry. I think however, that his best role is to come off the bench and energize the team with his shooting. We will struggle Chillz through as a starter. The reason being is that it's the way of NBA to have a high draft pick start and learn On the Job.

His discipline will help him.

[Weez]

exactly. we're in agreement on this one ~ Barry needs to come off the bench (perhaps even more than the team 'needs' Childress to start).