Atlanta forward Josh Smith will travel with the team this weekend when they go to Toronto and Washington on consecutive nights.

That leads many to believe that he could return to the court for the first time since he injured his left ankle on Nov. 7.

"He?s definitely on his way back," Coach Mike Woodson said. "We?ll work him some on this trip and work him some just to see where he is. But I?d rather see him practice in a big setting with everybody on the floor going up and down versus just these little bitty one-hour practices to try and get him ready to get back going.

"I?m not saying he?s going to play this weekend. But we?re going to make sure he?s with us [on the road] so we can gauge where he is and go from there."