Atlanta
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Finally recovering from knee surgery he underwent in July, Tony Delk has participated in his first full contact practice since undergoing the knife and may play tonight. Head coach Mike Woodson expects to play him only in two-three minute spurts for a total of 10 minutes or less just to "let him get his wind a little bit." Al Harrington is also likely to play while Kevin Willis may be back for tomorrow's game.
So perhaps the Hawks have gotten the injuries out of the way, mainly: Chris Crawford, of course, is out for the entire season.
The Hawks have been blown out by 30+ points each of the last two games and are just 1-5 in the preseason heading into the first of their last two games, a back-to-back road trip, tonight. In fact, the Hawks are not going to be play a game in Atlanta until November 9th, since their first three games of the regular season are a Western Conference road trip against Phoenix, Seattle, and the Lakers.
So you can imagine why the fact that Delk is starting to come back, and that Harrington will likely play tonight, and that Willis might be ready to go for tomorrow, would be such welcome news.
NEXT GAME
The Hawks take on divisional rivals Charlotte Bobcats and their star rookie Emeka Okafor for the first time in history TONIGHT! The game against the newly expanded club will not be televised in any way but will start at 7:00pm Eastern in Charlotte. Tickets are still available.
TEAM NOTES
Win a suite for Hawks opening night! Sign up for the Restart Sweepstakes.
Meet Hawks alumni Spud Webb and challenge him to a game of hoops in the Sports Arena.Plus, don't miss an exclusive autograph/Q&A session with the Slam Dunk champ and ring in the Hawks new season by watching the game on the signature 16' screen.
WHO:The entire Atlanta Hawks team and coaching staff; Atlanta Hawks VP - Basketball & Atlanta Spirit, LLC Investor Dominique Wilkins; Atlanta Spirit, LLC Investor Todd Foreman and Hawks President & CEO Bernie Mullin; Hawks legends Spud Webb, Moses Malone, Lou Hudson, Walt Bellamy, Mike Glenn, Andrew Lang, John Battle, Charlie Criss and Wes Matthews
WHAT:Atlanta Hawks Foundation's 11th Annual Golf Classic
WHERE:Bear's Best
5342 Aldeburgh Drive
Suwanee, GA 30024
(678) 714-2582
Toll Free: (866) 511-BEST
WHEN:Friday, October 29, 2004 ... Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with a shotgun start set for 11:00 a.m.
Directions to Bear's Best (from Downtown Atlanta):
Take I-75/85 North to I-85 North
Take Exit 111 (GA317) Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road
Turn left heading west (turns into Suwanee Dam Road) and follow 6 miles to Johnson Road
Turn left on Johnson Road, 1 mile down it dead-ends into Bear's Best/Edinburgh entrance
INJURY UPDATE
Kevin Willis(right shoulder) will miss tonight's game but will likely be back for Thursday's game against the Cavaliers in Pittsburgh.Al Harrington (sprained right middle finger) will likely play tonight.Tony Delk (recovering from a July knee surgery) has had his first full contact practice and might play for the first time tonight.Chris Crawford(knee) is out for the season.
John Manasso ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionwrites: The Hawks hold their final auditions today and Thursday before games start counting.In light of their performance in the past four, it's important for them to show some improvement. In all, they have lost five in a row, including the past two by an average of 31.5 points. In those games, they have shot a combined 38 percent while allowing their opponents to shoot 54.5 percent.
Michael Hiestand ofUSA Todaywrites: Steve Belkin, owner of the NBA Atlanta Hawks and NHL Thrashers, who gave, with his wife, $149,500 of his $153,500 to Democrats: "It clearly just reflects my personal views and in no way represents the team. It's important for everybody to get involved in the process."