Sydney Kings star Josh Childress says his highly anticipated return from injury against the Illawarra Hawks on Wednesday will give his teammates the much-needed sense of "familiarity and comfort" needed to revive their season.
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Childress fractured his right hand one month ago against the Adelaide 36ers in his return from a separate injury.
It was a tough pill to swallow for the former NBA veteran who has been plagued with injuries since he came to the NBL at the start of last season.
Childress admitted his dominant hand wasn't "fully 100 per cent" but said he would take extra precautions to make sure there was no recurrence.
"It's extremely frustrating, it's just part of sport," Childress said. "I'm hoping to finish out the season without any other injuries, so really just having fun and helping my team get some wins – that's the main goal the next few months."
Strengthened by Al Harrington for six games, there will be a sense of relief for the Kings now that Childress is back playing, given he has been with the side for longer and when he plays, their winning record improves significantly.
Childress said there was no better time to get back in the winner's circle.
"For the squad there will be a sense of comfort and familiarity," Childress said of his return. "I think it will be good for us, I'm looking forward to it. I think everybody, based on our training session yesterday, they were excited to have me back on the floor."
There has been mild criticism and speculation about Damian Cotter's coaching future, especially given the appointment of Joe Connelly from the US into the coaching staff, but Childress said any exterior talk meant little to the squad hell-bent on saving their season.
"Everybody has an answer to our problems," Childress said. "Everybody is an expert. Everybody knows everything about what we should and should not do. Everybody has an opinion, but at the end of the day, it's going to come down to everybody who's in that gym working hard, trying to turn this thing around. We want to be the best team we can be and we're working to do that, but coach Cotter is definitely the man for the job and he has my 100 per cent support."
The Wollongong Hawks have only won one more game than the Kings this year and it will be interesting to see how smoothly Childress slots into the starting five after some time away.
"Will we click and get back to everyone firing on all cylinders? Or will it take a bit more of an adjustment period? I don't know. I don't think anybody knows," Childress said. "We have to make a push now and put ourselves in the best position to make the playoffs."
