Hawks forward Josh Smith watched his team beat the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday from the team's training room, practically falling off the training table in excitement. With his sprained right knee still healing, he may have to watch the Hawks play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday from the bench.
"Right now, I'm a player-coach," Smith said with a smile. "If it doesn't feel right [Friday], I'll be in a suit right over there by Coach [Larry Drew] drawing some plays up, trying to be in his ear a little bit."
Smith did not practice Thursday and is considered day-to-day. Smith said he can run in a straight line on his sprained MCL, but has pain when cutting. Drew said he plans to not have Smith in the lineup.
For the Thunder, NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant is listed as doubtful after spraining his ankle in their win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Said Drew, "Let's say I won't lose any sleep if he didn't play."
Tough ‘D'
The Bulls' 30-point second half was the fewest points that the Hawks have allowed in a half this season and the fewest the Bulls have scored in a half this season. The Hawks' team record is 21 points.
"I knew we were in a stretch where we didn't score a basket for a while, and I noticed that the score was still close, so that meant they weren't scoring either, but I had no clue we held them to 30 points," Hawks guard Joe Johnson said. "That was crazy."
In guard Kirk Hinrich's three games with the team, opponents are shooting 38.9 percent, well below the Hawks' season percentage of 45.3 percent.
Sticking with 2-pointers
Drew lauded the shooting range of center Al Horford, who made his first 3-pointer of the season Wednesday in his 31-point, 16-rebound outburst. He noted how he saw Horford make 23 of 25 3-pointers in a shooting drill last summer. He wasn't ready, though, to give him the green light.
"I've already got one guy I'm trying to [limit taking 3-pointers]," Drew said with a laugh, referring to Smith. "I don't need two."
About the Author
