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Posted by: Micah Hart at 10:55AM EST on February 6, 2008
The first thing a lot of people think of when they talk about Josh Childress
(besides the 'fro) is the fact that the Hawks passed up Luol Deng and Andre
Iguodala to draft him 6th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft.
I understand this thinking. Both Deng and Iguodala have blossomed into
terrific NBA players, and while neither of their teams are doing much damage
this season, they are both in line for big paydays over the summer.
Still, when people mention those two, it is always said as a way to disparage
Childress and the Hawks' decision to draft him.
The problem with that argument is that while people are salivating over Deng
and Iguodala, they are ignoring the fact that Childress has become a very
talented NBA player in his own right, and one who is nearly as important to his
team (if not equally so). Don't believe me? Take a look at John Hollinger's Player Efficiency
Ratings, where you'll see Childress (18.10 PER) is ahead of Deng (17.63)
and just behind Iguodala (18.70).
I bring this up today because given his performance of late, Chills is long
overdue the props he deserves. Just look at his last two games (both Hawks victories): an absurd 19-22 from
the field, putting up 23 and 21 points in the process.
Chills is the
kind of player every team needs to be successful, because he does all of the little things that help
them win. He hits
free throws (a career-best 83.5% this season), rebounds on both ends
(something many thought would be an issue for him given his slight stature), and
he can play (and defend) multiple
positions, including the point.
But the thing I like the most about Chills' game is his understanding of his
strengths and weaknesses, and his ability to stick to the things that work and
away from ones that don't.
How is that put into practice? I'm glad you asked.
Take a look at this:
This is a chart of all of Childress's shots in the 2007-08 season so far. The
results are pretty mind-boggling, if you ask me. Chills has taken 312 shots this
year, and of those, 80% have come from the area right around the basket. This is
a good thing, since he is shooting 66% (164-249) from there. His shooting
percentages from outside that area don't look that great at first glance (he is
17-63 for 27%), but it's such a small sample size it's hard to draw any real
conclusions.
I tend to believe Josh is better than a 27% shooter from midrange to the
perimeter, but that's besides the point. Chills knows the best way for him to
score is to get to the rack, and therefore he devotes almost all his effort on
the offensive end towards that purpose - getting out in transition, making cuts,
and crashing the offensive glass. As a result, he is a lay-up machine (with
a penchant for highlight-reel dunks as well), and he is able to average
double-figures in points (12.2 so far this season) without the Hawks ever
running a play for him.
Childress may not be an All-Star, but he is definitely capable of taking home
some hardware someday. He is the perfect 6th man for the Hawks, and as the team
continues to mature and succeed, I don't doubt you'll start to see his name
mentioned as a candidate in that category.
Would Deng or Iguodala look good in a Hawks uniform? Sure. But Josh Childress
looks just fine, and the Hawks are lucky to have him.
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 4:11PM EST on October 5, 2007
I wasn't able to make it down to practice yesterday, but I caught all the action from today's scrimmage
down at Philips Arena. Another spirited effort by the players, as they continue
to try to adapt to a more frenetic pace of play.
It's going to be interesting
to see how quickly they can adapt to it, I'll say that much. They are definitely
still in the learning stages. It's funny, you'd think that playing faster would
be easier, since it requires more of the natural athleticism that most NBA
athletes possess, but it's actually pretty difficult to do it well. Still, there
is no doubt that the up tempo pace suits many of the Hawks players better than a
slower, half-court game, so it's definitely worth a shot to see how much they
can push it.
I spoke to
Josh Childress about it after practice, as he figures to benefit from
the new playing style more than most of his teammates. As a guy who gets a lot
of his baskets off lay-ups in transition and by flying around the basket in
general, I can see Chills adding several points to his average just by beating
his man down the court or being a trailer on the break.
Don't forget tomorrow is your chance to get your first look at the Hawks with
the open
practice at Philips Arena. Doors open at 11:45 am, so make sure to come
by and check it out. I won't be able to make it as I will be out of town at a
wedding, but if anyone is there and wants to provide their commentary, feel free
to email your thoughts to me at hawks.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com
I may even post your comments (or photos)!
Here are some pictures from today, and you will hopefully notice a jump in
quality over previous pics as I was using a much better camera today. Once I
learn how to use it better, they should get even better...
Solomon Jones works on his shooting touch
Joe and Marvin head to the locker room after practice
Zaza works on his post moves with new Hawks assistant coach Alton Lister
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 12:43PM EST on September 10, 2007
Josh Childress and Harold Ellis teach at Basketball Without Borders - Africa
The NBA's Basketball Without Borders program is really one of the best
charitable programs in any professional sport. It should get a lot more press
than it does, but regardless it gives many NBA players a chance to see the world
and give back to the worldwide community.
Several Hawks have been involved in the last couple years, including Zaza
Pachulia and Marvin Williams, and this year also marks the second straight year
Josh Childess has participated. We caught up to him as he took part this past
week in Basketball
Without Borders - Africa, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa
from Sept. 5-9, to find out more about his experience:
Hawks.com: You did BWB last year in China - how does the African version
compare?
Josh Childress: The Africa version is very different to Basketball without Borders Asia
especially being African American - the kids here in Africa really really look
up to you they see you as a real role model and also just the level of
athleticism and how much the kids really love to learn it's a big difference. But
both camps were great and I'm looking forward to doing more as the years go on.
Hawks.com: You spent time Wednesday at the Apartheid Museum. What was that
experience like?
JC: The Apartheid museum was a real eye-opening experience. I'd heard about the
apartheid regime but you never really know until you witness it and there I saw
it first hand. It was amazing, it was great to learn that people went through
such a struggle and it was a real eye-opener for me and it as very humbling and
it makes me realize how blessed I am. I really enjoyed that experience.
Hawks.com: What is the best part of the BWB program for you?
JC: The best part of the BWB program to me is the really the community events.
This year in South Africa we did Habitat For Humanity where we helped build a home
and just to go to these communities that are so poverty stricken and you see
these kids faces and its incredible. We worked on building a house, and when it
was done I gave a kid the gloves that I used to work on the house and he was
thrilled and he was pumping his chest and just so excited.
Hawks.com: Is it nice getting to share the experience with Hawks scout Harold Ellis and broadcaster Steve Smith?
JC: It's definitely nice to share the experience with Steve and Harold. I don't get to
hang out with them much during the regular season so
just getting to know them and hearing stories about back when they used to play
was great. It will be cool for us being able to go back and share our experiences with the people from
Atlanta - that will be great as well.
Hawks.com: Most of your teammates are back in Atlanta beginning their preparation for
the season. Have you talked to them at all? Are you planning on joining them
when BWB is over?
JC: I haven't been able to talk to most of my teammates just because of the time
difference and calling the US is pretty expensive. I know they are there
working hard and I definitely plan on coming back to Atlanta on Monday, and
I look forward to getting back with the team and starting off the season how we
mean to carry on.
Click here to see more photos of J-Chill's trip to South Africa.
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 1:39PM EST on August 20, 2007
With summer league play over (job well done Shelden and Acie, nabbing All-RMR
honors - and Al Horford might have if he hadn't hurt his ankle), and
nothing else really going on until the start of training camp in October, I
thought this would be a good time to take a look at the Hawks roster and check
out everyone's status on the team. It should be a good way to kill some time
over the next few weeks and help bridge the gap until the season starts!
Today we continue the series
with jack-of-all-trades G/F
Josh Childress. How do you
think these players will do?
Leave your answers in the
comments!
2007 Highlights: A slow starter his first two seasons in the league,
Chills started out hot for the Hawks, making up for the absence of Marvin
Williams by putting up 15+ points in four of the team's first seven games.
Unfortunately, the injury bug hit him soon thereafter, as a stress fracture in
his foot cost him 27 games the rest of the season. In 55 games, he still managed
to have some pretty terrific performances. He put up a stat-stuffing 22 points,
12 boards, 6 assists and 5 blocks in a 102-100 loss to
Portland on March 23, 23 points and a season-high 14 rebounds in a 100-96 win over
Boston on January 15, and poured in a season-high 25 in a 99-76 pasting
of Sacto on March 19.
Here is an interesting nugget I found while looking over his season, by the
way. If you consider Chills a guard (and I do) more than a forward, then his 2.2
offensive rebounds per game was the best in the NBA amongst all guards. Pretty
impressive if you ask me.
What he needs to work on this summer: Getting healthy (a recurring
theme in these recaps, eh?). The Hawks need Chills on the court as much as
possible, as he is the type of player who does all of the little things needed
to get wins on a consistent basis. Josh's 3-pt FG percentage dipped last season
from nearly 50% to 34%, but that's more in line with what most players typically
shoot from long range. It's hard to think of one particular thing he needs to
work on, as he has always struck me as a guy who is good at a lot of things but
not necessarily great at any one thing. Basically, he needs to work on getting a
little better at everything (not too much to ask, is it?).
Outlook for 2007-08: Chills has kept a somewhat low profile on the
Hawks offensively in the past, letting the game come to him and rarely forcing
anything. It has served him well, as he has had very high shooting percentages
in each of his first three years. However, going into his fourth season, I think
he needs to assert himself more. Not in a way that will make him force things,
but in a way that makes opposing defenses take more notice of where he is and,
ideally, force them to think harder about double-teaming JJ.
Chill, like Josh, is playing for a contract extension, so it's important he
play well if he wants to really get paid.
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 10:02AM EST on April 30, 2007
Josh Childress is widely considered to be the biggest techie on the Hawks
roster. Recently he sat down
with Earthling, Earthlink's official blog, to discuss his interests in
technology. Here is an excerpt:
What's
your favorite social networking site and why?
My favorite right now is MySpace because it's the best way for me to stay in
touch with fans and also reconnect with people that I've lost contact with
over the years -- from college, high school, and even elementary school.
[Note: Josh's MySpace page is over
here]
Do you read what fans write about you?
Yes and no. I sift through every now and then to see what people are saying.
But it's sort of an unwritten rule in sports not to read the newspaper or
message boards because if you pay attention to everything you read, you will
go crazy. Of course, you want to read all the positive comments but there
are always people who are going to be negative. Sometimes the amount of
negativity outweighs the comments from fans who really appreciate you and
your game.
I've heard you're using a
Helio Drift. How do you like it? What ring do you use?
I really like the Helio Drift. It's small, compact, and easy to use.
Although a lot of my friends don't have Helios yet, when they see mine they
always ask about it. Right now my ringtone is "money in the bank" but I'm
working on downloading a new one.
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 4:18PM EST on April 20, 2007
Well, I suppose a valedictory of the season is warranted before we truly move
on to the business at hand of figuring out just where the ping-pong balls are
going to put us for the NBA Draft.
I look at the past season as a four-act play.
Act One - Hangin In:
This comprised most of the first quarter of the
season, where we battled through injuries (a recurring theme) to stand 8-9 after
an improbable 98-96 win at Denver on December 6. Things were looking up - we
were set to get Marvin Williams back from his broken finger, Joe Johnson was one
of the leading scorers in the NBA, and Tyronn Lue was playing the best
basketball of his career.
Act Two - Die Hard:
It began the next game out, as JJ hurt his calf
against the Lakers and things started to trend in the wrong direction. The
tipping point came in two games, as the Hawks failed to hold onto two late-game
leads (including a 21-point fourth quarter spread) against the Bulls and Jazz.
Those losses were devastating. I don't think I've ever felt two losses affect my
physical well-being as those games did, and I just work on the website. You can
imagine what it did to the team's confidence.
At this point, a perfect storm of circumstances caused the season to spiral
downward at an almost dizzying pace. T-Lue hurt his groin. Josh Smith had to
have surgery for a hernia. Speedy continued to deal with knee problems that
limited his effectivess. Joe's calf. Marvin's finger. Shelden's shoulder.
Childress's foot. It went on and on, and all while the team dealt with a brutal
schedule that saw the team face seven playoff teams in eight games (with the
eighth being Indiana, a team that was comfortably in the playoff picture at that
point).
Predictably, the team lost all eight games, and now, sitting at 9-21, hope
appeared lost.
Act
Three - The Resurrection: A surprising thing happened at that point. Act
Three saw the team begin to play better, starting with an 86-74 home win over
the Clippers on January 6. Despite a few bad losses (including consecutive
blowouts to Charlotte on back-to-back nights), the Hawks strung together some
impressive wins, including a home victory over Detroit,
on the road
at Minnesota, and home-and-away wins
against Orlando to take the season series. The Hawks finished January with a
winning record, the first time the team had achieved such a feat over a full
month since a 9-7 March back in 2002. February started off well too - the team
won three of four on a West Coast road trip going into the All-Star break
(including an all-but-inconceivable win at Phoenix), and things were looking up.
Even with all the injuries and the big losing streak, the team was just a few
games out of a playoff spot to start the second half and to top it off, Joe made
the Eastern Conference All-Star team (yeah yeah, I know it was as a replacement,
but we all know he was deserving, so shut it).
Unfortunately, that led to:
Act Four - the Deluge:
Another brutal stretch of scheduling (at
Chicago, home to Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio, and at Dallas), saw the team
fall further back, and then the bottom dropped out when Joe Johnson was lost for
the season after suffering a calf injury at Miami
on March 5. The team responded
well at first, winning four straight, but eventually the loss of their best
player was too much to overcome. Further injuries continued to compound the
problem, and soon the playoffs faded from sight. Fans began rooting for the team
to lose (Commies) to protect the draft pick that heads to Phoenix if not in the
top three, and the team obliged, albeit unwillingly.
There were positives even in the free fall, as Josh Smith continued to show
off the game that leads many to predict All-Star game appearances in his future,
and both Marvin and Shelden Williams had strong finishes with increased playing
time.
Now, as we get ready to begin working on the script for 2007-08, it's time to
say thanks to all the fans who stuck with the team through a true roller-coaster
of a season. It was great at times and excruciating at times, but hopefully in
the end the team takes with them the necessary lessons to build towards
tomorrow.
Despite the season's finish, I find myself very optimistic about the future.
Yes, we finished with the 4th worst record in the league. But I refuse to
believe we couldn't have competed for a playoff spot, if not earned one
outright, if we had ever gotten the chance to play with a full deck. We didn't
and that's on us - every team deals with injuries, so you can't play the poor me
card too much. But I'm not ready to give up on this roster, and I think we are
set up to make some interesting moves this summer to improve.
So again - thanks to all the fans for your support this season. Good times
are around the corner, I can feel it. Stick with us.
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 4:52PM EST on April 18, 2007
The 2006-07 season has come to a close. It's crazy - it feels like it just
started. I can't believe it's over.
We went out on a positive note, beating down the Pacers 118-102 to finish the
season with an even 30 wins against 52 losses.
I will get more in depth in the coming weeks, breaking down the players and
everything, but for now I will just say that I think that everyone is
disappointed in how the season ended (despite last night's victory), but that
every player I talked to is determined to do what it takes over the summer to do
better in 07-08.
Today was the day they cleared out the lockers for the summer and had their
exit interviews with Coach Woodson.
It was personally sad for me, as it may have been the last time I see
Royal Ivey, who I have watched since he was a freshman at Texas, and who is
an unrestricted free agent going into the off-season.
I spoke to Marvin
Williams and Josh Childress
about the season and their summer plans. Marvin is headed back to Chapel Hill
for summer school, while Childress is heading to South Africa to participate in
Basketball Without Borders for the second straight summer.
I also did one final episode of The
Show With The Show with Tyronn Lue. T-Lue is a huge NBA fan, so
he will be in the audience at several playoff games over the next few weeks. His
picks for the finals? Dallas and Detroit.
As I said, I will have more recap of the season in the coming weeks, but for
now, here are some pics from the morning:
Solo and Video Coordinator John Beckett on the phone. They may have been talking
to each other
Zaza Pachulia gets interviewed by a member of the Georgian media (the Republic,
not the state)
Sekou Smith talks to Josh Childress about his summer plans
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Posted by: Micah Hart at 10:50AM EST on April 4, 2007
What was already a rough end to the season (with season-ending injuries to Joe Johnson and Speedy Claxton) just got a little harsher, as it was discovered that Josh Childress has a stress fracture in his right foot that will sideline him for the next 4-to-6 weeks.
I am sure the conspiracy theorists out there will claim this is a move designed to help the team tank and secure a top-three draft pick, but believe me this injury is no laughing matter. Chills was sidelined earlier this season with some foot issues, and though he was able to come back, hopefully the rest he will get now will allow him to be fully healed (no pun intended) in time for next season.
In the meantime, the Hawks will play the Nets tonight without three of their top six, which just means we'll have to get some quality minutes from the reserves. Salim has shown what he can do with extended playing time; hopefully we'll see more production from the rookie bigs as well.
Permalink
Posted by: Micah Hart at 4:36PM EST on March 20, 2007
Five straight home wins. This has just been the screwiest season I can
remember in years. First we could only win on the road. Now we are killing teams
at home. Last night wasn't really even close. We led nearly the entire first
half, then absolutely destroyed Sac-town in the third, tie-ing a franchise
record by holding them to only eight points in the quarter.
Everyone who played contributed last night. ZazaPachulia had
18 points at halftime on his way to 23 on 11-12 shooting. Marvin Williams had
nearly a double-double in the first half, finishing with a full one (13 points,
11 rebounds).
And then there was JoshSmith. A short aside first.
Last night, about one minute into the game, ace Hawks PR man Jason Roose came
over to my station on press row to ask if I was live-blogging the game. I
wasn't, but FYI, I will be live-bloggin Wednesday night for the Miami game
(plug!). I asked him why, and he said he wanted it on the record that Josh Smith
was going to get his first triple-double tonight. Obviously, you will have to
take me at my word on this one, but the game literally was less than 90 seconds
old when he made this proclamation. Man was he close to being right.
Josh ended up a point shy of turning Roose into a modern-day Nostradamus (Smoove
finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists), but the fact that he came
that close is just another testament to the all-around player Smith is on his
way to becoming.
Just to recap, in the last week, Josh has now set career-bests in points (32
against Minnesota), rebounds (17 vs Philly), and assists (10 against Sacto). He
is starting to remind me of myself, actually. And by that I mean, when I used to
rock Tecmo NBA Basketball on my old-school Nintendo, I used to play with the
Bulls and see how many different things I could do with Michael Jordan, like how
many steals he could get, or points he could score, etc.
The way Josh is playing right now, it's almost like he is thinking to
himself, "Let's see, what statistical category do I want to fill up tonight?"
Meanwhile, the Hawks have won five of seven since losing Joe Johnson. Cause that
makes sense.
By the way, the picture to the right is from a dunk Smith nearly pulled off
last night that, had he finished it, would have probably been the best dunk
these eyes had ever seen. Here is a link below to see for yourself. He missed
it, but man if he had nailed it...wow.
Josh Childress, lest we forget his efforts, also had a great night as well,
popping for a season-high 25 points. He was particularly present in the third
period, hitting 6-6 from the field and
earning himself the lead in Rob Blackstien's fantasy hoops column for
USA Today.
With the Heat coming to town Wednesday night, it will be important for the
Hawks to play team ball the way they did against the Kings (they dished out a
season-high 32 assists). They can win this game without Joe. Man, who thought we
would be able to say that two weeks ago.
I understand this thinking. Both Deng and Iguodala have blossomed into
terrific NBA players, and while neither of their teams are doing much damage
this season, they are both in line for big paydays over the summer. 
Josh
Childress
What's
your favorite social networking site and why?
Act One - Hangin In:
Act Four - the Deluge:
The 2006-07 season has come to a close. It's crazy - it feels like it just
started. I can't believe it's over.
What was already a rough end to the season (with season-ending injuries to Joe Johnson and Speedy Claxton) just got a little harsher, as it was discovered that 
Five straight home wins. This has just been the screwiest season I can
remember in years. First we could only win on the road. Now we are killing teams
at home. Last night wasn't really even close. We led nearly the entire first
half, then absolutely destroyed Sac-town in the third, tie-ing a franchise
record by holding them to only eight points in the quarter.
