Hawks' Joe Smith out with thumb injury

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After 21 games, the Hawks' perfect bill of health has come to an end.

Forward Joe Smith will sit out of the team's Friday night game in Toronto with a dislocated left thumb, an injury sustained in the Hawks' win over Chicago Wednesday.

"It's pretty sore right now," Smith said Thursday after practice at Philips Arena. "We'll see how it feels on Sunday."

Smith will stay home to treat the digit. He could possibly play Sunday at home against New Jersey, or be held out until next Wednesday's game with Memphis.

He injured it swiping at the ball while defending a Chicago fastbreak. Othello Hunter, who has been inactive thus far this season, will be activated Friday and will play a backup role to forward Josh Smith.

"We can always play Al (Horford) at the ‘4 [spot],' Marvin (Williams) at the ‘4,' " coach Mike Woodson said. "If I don't feel comfortable with ‘O,' I can go that route."

Smith will be the first Hawk to miss a game due to injury. The Raptors, by comparison, have lost 35 player games.

Hunter played 16 games last season as a rookie.

"It's kind of hard [being inactive] because you can look and see what you can do out there. And to know you're still in a suit kind of [stinks]," Hunter said. "But now I feel like all that I watched and learned, I can actually bring it to the court now."

Time to make hay

Including their game against Toronto, five of the Hawks' next six games will be against teams under .500: Toronto, New Jersey, Memphis, Chicago and Minnesota. Only a Dec. 18 game with Utah interrupts that stretch.

"We have an opportunity to get some separation and try and move up into the second or third spot [in the Eastern Conference] over this next stretch," swingman Mo Evans said. "If we can take advantage of that, we can really help ourselves."

Going into Thursday's play, the Hawks had the third-best record in the East (15-6) behind Orlando and Boston (tied at 17-4) and ahead of fourth-place Cleveland (15-7).

Lighting it up

Evans' minutes are down considerably from last season (23.0, including 25 starts, to 13.3 this season). Wednesday, when he got his chance in the Hawks' blowout win over Chicago, he didn't shy away.

Evans made 6 of 8 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, for a season-high 18 points.

"We've got a lot of depth on our team and a lot of guys who are capable. So when you get your opportunity, you've got to go out and take advantage of it," Evans said.

Getting ripped

Following the practice-ending team huddle Thursday, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, among others, tore apart Woodson and assistant coach Bob Bender's practice shirts. It is a prank started in past seasons by player performance coach Pete Radulovic, Horford said, and has passed on to players.

"I don't know why," Horford said with a smile. "I think they think that's cool."

Numbers

The Hawks' average point differential of plus-7.0 was fourth in the league going into Thursday's games. They were tied for sixth in the league in scoring at 104.4. Guard Joe Johnson and Cleveland's LeBron James were the only two players in the league averaging 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists.