Josh is proving a point.

[Buzzard]

Childress is starting to prove that he was well worth our lottery pick. He keeps getting the minutes he could very well end up 3rd in rookie of year race behind Okafor and Howard.

[Spiral]

I agree, his play has been great here lately. He is shooting with confidence, he hits the glass hard and is proving BK right in taking him.

[KBatPCSOM]

Yeah. His comfort level has risen, and his confidence in on the rise. He has four double doubles in his past five games. The guy may become one of the best rebounding shooting guards in the NBA. He's got some work to do for the long run, but he's really coming on.

I personaly like the back court of Josh Childress and Boris Diaw right now. I believe the more they play together, the better they will get. I'm interested in seeing how those two develop over the course of the last 31 games. They give us tremendous length and athleticism in the back court.

Both Childress and Smith need to spend the entire offseason shooting jumpers to develop that aspect of their game further.

[Final_quest]

I confess I called Childress a bust a couple of months ago. At this point the league must regret not putting him in the Rookie-Sophomore Game. Chill has been exciting to watch, he's a great athlete. Don't think he'll be #3 in ROY balloting unless he starts averaging a double-double. Deng, Gordon, Smoove, and Iggy are all possibilities for that #3 spot. Also, his numbers have picked up with Harrington out. It will be difficult for him to continue his scoring and rebounding with Harrington, Walker, and Smoove healthy. At least we know he is capable of both.

[Spiral]

Unfortunately for Smoove, I think it will be his playing time that gets cut. For all the high-light reel plays he makes, he still has some bad turnovers and often fails to cover his man on D leaving him open for wide open shots. (see Dermarr Johnson) I'll probably get nailed for stating this because some folks on here are so enamoured with Smoove that I've seen him referred to as our best defender and 2nd best player. At his point, he is neither. I watched Mello eat Josh Smith's lunch in the Denver game repeatedly. He posted him up, he shot over him, he show cased nearly every offensive move he has. I'm not stating that Smoove doesn't haven't a nice game, but he strikes me as lazy on the court at times. I watch him walk around on offense seemingly dis-interested as to whats going on sometimes. Maybe Woody has told him to go stand in the corner and put your hands on your hips, but I doubt it. A player with his atleticism should be moving without the ball and cutting to the basket if nothing else to grab rebounds. Watch how Chil is always around the rim. Thats how I want Smoove to be. God knows he's got the leaping ability to get as high as anyone in this league.

Now before you go off and drill me and tell me to stop hating on our players. Let me say this. Josh Smith is probably my favorite player on this team. He is definitely the most fun for me to watch. I see some serious holes in his game and as much as I hate to say it, a lot of it looks like a lack of effort. I hope this is not the case. I feel Josh Smith has the potential to be an elite player in this league. (McGrady, Kobe, LeBron elite) I just don't want to see him not get there.

[Nicholasp27]

we've gone from bust to top 3 rookies !!?!?!??

wow

i won't go so far as top 3, but i'll stick with my position since the summer...chill is a top 7 rookie and, in time, will prove to be a good pick...

luckily they put al on the il, so chill got to prove his stuff sooner rather than later...

[yee]

Spiral I totally agree with you. In fact, in the past three games, I've seen Smoove carelessly pass the ball into the opponents hands at least 4 times a game (especially on fast breaks).

However, i think he will only learn through more playing time.

[Wretch]

Once they moved Al out of the way, Chill stepped up. As long as there is someone on the court for him to defer to (and as long as he is not given the responsibility) then Chill will look exactly like he did early on. He's going to play the team game and watch Al and Toine and Delk and Peja and my daughter shoot the ball.

Give him and increased role, not just minutes, and he's going to show some very good stuff. With Smoove jumping all over the place, people forget how athletic Chill is and they totally write of his ability to get to the basket; but that's the difference. That's what will make him better than decent.

[cyman3]

i agree, Diaw and Childress play well together.

I would love to see DIAW/SMITH/CHILDRESS (PG/SG/SF) play it out for the rest of the season.

[VDiLetto]

Yeah, I am glad to see that Diaw is finally getting some playing time. I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of the season with Diaw, Chill, Smith in the starting lineup. It seems as though Diaw is starting to get comfortable and his numbers are looking good.

[Weez]

it's not a bad thing if his minutes take a hit and he's continued to have to prove his worth and improve his game, both in practice and on the court...in order to earn PT. Woody took this approach earlier in the year, with both rooks but esp. with Smoove...and it worked out great. The same should be continued now....earn your time...or lose it.

[Traceman]

he is going to be a very good player in this league for a long time. He has an uncanny ability to get to the basket but he sometimes gets his shot blocked when he gets in close. With more upper body strength, he will be able to finish those plays strongly on a consistent basis and I think his game will go the next level. Improving his J will force defenders to respect his outside shot and enhance his ability to get to the rim. Like a few others have said, I see some Scottie Pippen in him. Not quite the athlete Scottie was but I think he will be a better rebounder and I think he has a better feel for the game as a rookie than Scottie did.

[emeans]

Chillz is playing awesome. I am now so impressed by this kid that I truly think he will one day be an all-star in this league.

Right now he is playing the best ball out of all rookies drafted including Howard and Okafur.

BK did really well in the draft. If performances continues to improve like they are doing.......Would you call this the best draft in Atlanta Hawks History??

I know time will tell and it takes a few years to determine that definitively, but what are your thoughts??

[TheDude]

if both of our 1sts end up stars and both of our 2nds end up bench players, then yeah, i'd say so...

although i don't have the list of all the drafts in front of me.

[Nicholasp27]

yeah

i've already thought it was as soon as ivey started playing well for his position...

i knew smoove is a star and chillz is another matrix or prince or pippen...i knew donta would be better than his draft position...

smoove will be a star, chill will be a good player and ivey/donta will both contribute...

although if we can trade al and walker for 2 1sts this year, then he could beat out this year

[CBAreject]

The only players we've drafted that are worth talking about are:

Kevin Willis

Stacey Augmon

Jason Terry

That's a sad, sad list, but those are the players that we have drafted that became solid starters for a stretch (for us...we did draft Dickau, but traded him before he became decent. Also, Gasol, Jones, and Tinsley were all drafted for other teams). I think Willis was a heck of a pro player, and he made All-Star once or twice. He was always a double-double man. Other than him, we have not really done well. Terry is a fair starter, and Augmon was a good defender. I think Augmon could've played more effectively if he hadn't been benched in Detroit after we traded him there. After that season, he never really was plastic man again.

Anyway, you put Smoove, Childress, Smith, Ivey against those guys and you have a pretty darn good draft.

BTW, isn't it sad that 3 of the best players we've ever drafted were drafted for other teams (Jones, Tinsley, Gasol)? I think Babcock should've just told other teams he would trade picks, then pull out once they told him whom they would draft and pick that player. He'd have had better success.

[Diesel]

It's hard to judge.

Right now anyway....

But this was a very good draft for us if these guys continue.

[Plainview1981]

He has played alot better the last few weeks... But needs

to keep it up long term.