Childress and Smooth on Insiders Good, Bad, Ugly..

[Admin]

A little "love" from Chad Ford?

Quote:

---

3 a, b. Josh Childress/Josh Smith, Hawks

The line: 8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg on 46 percent shooting/7.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg on 45 percent shooting

The skinny: Earlier in the season, Childress was on the "bad" list after getting off to a miserable start. Since the All-Star break, however, he has been fantastic, averaging 14 ppg and 7.9 rpg on 48 percent shooting in the field. His rebounding numbers are especially remarkable considering the Hawks play him mostly at the two. His plus/minus stats are tops on the team the last 30 days.

Smith's scintillating performance at the All-Star dunk contest gave the Hawks their first real star-quality player since Dominique left town. He still has a long way to go before reaching those heights as a player, but there is sizzle to his game. His shot blocking, rebounding and dunking are way ahead of the rest of his skills, but given Smith's age, we'll be expecting great things in the future.

---

[Diesel]

It may be that Smoove is the marquee that draw the fans out but Chillz is the substance that makes the Hawks competitive.

I think over these last few games, Woodson has to find a way to get Smoove more minutes while keeping the Hawks competitive. Or at least, that is what he has to do to keep the season-ticket holders, DirectTV, and Big wigs at TNT/ABC/ESPN interested...

[chillzatl]

If he can't put some substance and win-ability into his game, the fans will forget him. I think he has hit the rookie wall. He's just looked completely gassed out there since the all-star game. Not that this is a bad thing, especially out of a highschool player. Just another thing for him to work on.

Childress has been superb man. I'm glad to see him playing so well. Looking at his production since the all-star game, you have to expect similar stats for most of next season, if not a bit better. Which is awesome. If Smooth can expand his game a bit and we bring in a solid FA or two, I think we'll have a very enjoyable 05/06 season. Maybe not quite playoff worthy yet. But a good two steps forward.

[Inside_Man]

Can't say that about any of the Babc0ck years!

Props to BK!

[Packfill]

Couldn't agree more.

Smoove has definitely hit the proverbial rookie wall, which is not such a bad thing considering his age. He has done everything the team and fans could have hoped for this year - played meaningful minutes, provided a glimpse of his potential, and starting making a name for himself with Hawks fans and basketball fans in general. Let him play 20-25 minutes for the rest of the season, don't ride him to hard and get him rested and recovered for the off-season. He has a ton of work to do in the off-season but his rookie season is an unquestioned success given his age and relatively undeveloped skill level.

Childress on the other hand, has turned himself into a real bonafide player. Sure his game still has holes and he has plenty to work on himself (mostly shooting range, strength and ball handling) but he definitely has justified his draft position and shown himself to a future leader.

Overall, the continued development of the Josh's and Harrington provides a solid foundation for building a winning team. The team desperately needs a big man who can board and defend, but the team is well positioned financially and in terms of draft status to fill that whole.

If a point guard is not drafted, I would really like the Hawks to take a hard look at Earl Watson. The guy is not flashy and is not a great scorer, but he is a solid steading influence that would mesh well with the young Hawks. The addition of Watson and a big man via draft and/or free agency probably is not enough to get the Hawks into the playoffs, especially since the team will be so young, but it should get the team heading in the right directon. Some outside shooting will have to be developed or acquired in the next few years to make the jump to the playoffs, but there is plenty of time to worry about that a year from now.

[Admin]

after having him most of the season on my fantasy team this guy is the last thing we need at PG because he is a terrible shooter. He is shooting 42% from the floor, 31% from 3, and 67% from the FT line. Those are good enough if you have shooters like the Suns do, but we need a PG to be able to be an outside threat and Watson will never provide that. I think he is a nice player, but I would personally rather have Lue who can put some fear into defenses with his outside shooting. Lue's numbers arent off the chart better than Watsons are except for on FTs where Lue is about an 80% shooter. As far as being PGs go I think they are about equal with Watson maybe being a better defender, but I would still rather just stick with Lue and draft a young buck.

[Diesel]

I really hope that Smoove doesn't take the route of Miner.

What I'm saying is that it's good that he was in the Rookie Game and it's good that he won the slam dunk contest... But he has a lot of work to do on his game. Chillz you are right, slam dunks will only take him so far. What I liked about Smoove was his blocks and his rebounds. I thought that was something tangible that he can build on. He has to work on his shooting and his knowledge of the game... But he needs to be told that everybody can dunk... So it's not that big of a deal. Then maybe show him a picture of Harold Miner

[cyman3]

did the dood just plan out SUCK after the getting the press and such his rookie year?

or was he NEVER good?

im just curious- cuz he left the league just like that. it wasnt a slow process where we slowly forgot about him and he rode the bench for the rest of his career.

so wat his story?

wat about guys like Rex Chapman (i really liked him)? One year, he was on the highlight reels, and the next year- the dood was never to be seen again! lol

[Nicholasp27]

i know smoove keeps getting compared to past young athletic studs who turned into duds...

BUT

the difference is...many of those guys were JUST athletic and could ONLY dunk

smoove is the 10th best blocker in the LEAGUE...in 20mpg...from the SG position most of the year!!

he's also a great rebounder, averaging 6-7 rpg in 20-25mpg...

yes he's gotta work on his shot and his handles and his decisions...but he's 19 and a rookie!

he shows glimpses of great passing, even if he makes bad passes...

he shows glimpses of slashing, even if he dribbles off his feet sometimes...(that crossover at the 3pt line to beat his man and then put it up over two other defenders about 2-3 games ago was sweet)...

he has to work on his game...bottom line...but even if he went the route of those other past duds...at least he'll be those players with blocking and rebounding skills...that'll set him above those players already...

worse case he's a quality 6th/7th man...best case he's another ak47/kemp/etc...

we'll just have to see

REMEMBER...we didn't expect HALF this production at this stage in his development...we expected nobody outside of ATL to know who he was until his 2nd-3rd year...and people don't just know him from dunk contest, but also from his 6 blocks last night, 10 blocks/0 turnovers against the mavs, etc...

he'll be fine...it'll just take time...i think we got so much so early that now we're spoiled and want him to be a 15/8/3/3/2 guy right now...

[Blunt91]

Rex Chapman wasn't a one year wonder the guy could flat out play. I think became more of a 6th man before he retired.

[macdaddy]

It would be nice to see Smoove get some touches on the offensive end. He needs the practice much more than Al. I realize he may be burned out a little but let him post up a little bit and see what he can do. That's what this time of year is for.

[DominiqueWilkins]

Childress is still the guy that I take my hat off to. Josh Smith is just not getting the job done on offense, but yet does a very good job on the boards.

[Weez]

if we're losing badly in a game, especially late...I'd like to see Diaw at the point and Smith at the sg (or at worst SF) position...without Al in the game at least half of that 'dead time'.

Reason being: many on this board argue as to the projected players' position(s).

Smoove? needs to work on (besides moving with his man on defense...highlighted if you looked closely to last night, with Smith appearing to be two steps behind his man...who was scoring at the time).

...sorry, is ball-handling responsibility. I agree that his post game also needs work, specifically...is he going to back his man down to his 'spot', thereby take=ing more of the more 'Reef approach'...or he going to catch further out and have the ability to truly put the ball on the floor and 'short-drive (the same ones that GRob used to try but subsequently usually dribbled off his foot or JT jumped without having a plan in mind).

the only reason there is an argument on his positioning is his ability to create his own shot and guard someone on the perimeter. he has the 'basic tools', that is athleticism, quickness, and shot/range to play the three...but if he's not capable of putting the ball on the floor and creating for himself more...he's going to be a '4' (in the same way that Swift is semi-dimensional in play, so too will be Smoove if he doesn't determine a path soon).