Lou Williams was cleared for full-contact practice, and his return to the Hawks’ lineup could come soon.
When asked before Wednesday’s game against the Knicks if he could play sooner rather than later, Williams answered, “That is fair to say.”
A day after Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer acknowledged that Williams has participated in full-contact drills, he said the guard was medically cleared and is getting in game shape. The veteran is rehabbing from a torn right ACL suffered in January.
“He is basically competing full-go now,” Budenholzer said Wednesday. “I guess, in that sense, you could say he’s been cleared. He is doing everything. It’s now getting game-ready or game-comfortable.
“He’s played five-on-five. He is basically cleared to do everything. We’ll get him to where he feels comfortable playing in a game.”
Budenholzer would not speculate when Williams may play his first game since the injury. Williams echoed the coach’s sentiments.
“I think the only way you can do that is playing games,” Williams said of getting in game shape. “We can do this (workout) stuff all day. We are still working toward to figure out what day we’ll be set to return. That’s up to them.
“Medically, I’m cleared. Everything else is just basketball. Whenever Coach feels like he is ready to throw me out there, that’s on him.”
Williams’ season ended after 39 games when he tore the ACL on Jan. 18 against Brooklyn. Such an injury typically takes about nine months to a year to heal. Williams is a few days away from the 10-month mark. And he knows it.
“I’ve been dealing with this for 10 months,” Williams said. “I haven’t taken 10 months off from basketball since I started playing when I was 5. I’m super excited to get back whenever he decides to throw me back out there.”
By comparison, Bulls star Derrick Rose tore the ACL in his left knee during the playoffs in 2011-12. He missed all of last season before finally returning this season after an 18-month layoff.
Williams appeared in 39 games for the Hawks last season. He averaged 14.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds. He will bolster the backcourt when he returns, giving Budenholzer another option at both guard positions.
Since the Hawks started training camp, Williams progressed through three-on-three, four-on-four and finally five-on-five drill work.
“A lot of it was just how I felt,” Williams said of progressing through each step. “Once I get to the point where I’m comfortable to do it every day, which I’m close to, that’s it. I tell them, and we would figure out what the next steps were.”
The final step is a return to an NBA game. That could be soon.
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