<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Birmingham ?- With all eyes on Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and rookie Shelden Williams during training camp, third-year Hawks swingman Josh Childress has been a forgotten man. It's still a mystery as to whether that's a good or bad thing. Childress, 23, always has seemed to be a bit more mature than his Hawks contemporaries; he came into the league in the same draft class as Smith and is close enough in age to the others that they've always been associated with one another. Perhaps he's blending so well with the Hawks' veterans these days that there's no need for minute-by-minute updates on his progress. Childress had 11 points, five assists and two rebounds in 32 minutes Thursday night in the Hawks' 109-88 exhibition loss to Orlando. The lack of buzz about Childress has been in stark contrast to the positive energy that surrounded him during camp this time a year ago, when he appeared to have made the most improvement from the previous season. "Last year in camp, he came out like gangbusters. He was great in camp," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "But in his defense, 'Chils' hurt his hamstring about two weeks before camp this year, and he's been sort of fighting his way back into a rhythm since then. It set him back a bit because he was on pace with Josh and Marvin when he tweaked that hamstring. And it's clear that he hasn't been his usual explosive self. He's just now gradually starting to get it back. "But I'm not worried about Chils. He's a guy that when he's on the floor, good things happen. You just have to keep his confidence up, and right now I think he's really battling that because he's not where he's used to being physically."</div> Source
