Wanna know how special Horford is?

[mrhonline]

Look at this list:

Major rookie rebounders in 3 pt. era

and:

Per 36

[DrReality]

Unbelievable. And he is so young and he's a Hawk. Destine to be great if he continues on this road. And if he only had a big to play beside him.

[hawkman]

He's going to lead the league in rebounds one day. I've seen plenty of rookies, and this guy doen't play like a rookie. It's safe to say that Al is a vital part of our team now. I don't see us winning without him. Now about our other "NBA ready" rookie......

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Can't do anything if he's sitting on the bench...

[pimp]

Horford should be playing more that 31 mpg

[Hawk88]

He is scoring under 10 per game and most everyone else on the list is dramatically higher. He is also older than most of the other players for their rookie seasons.

But I still like him, he is my favorite Hawk. I just don't think he will ever be as good as those names. I hope I am wrong.

[frosgrim]

Quote:

---

He is scoring under 10 per game and most everyone else on the list is dramatically higher. He is also older than most of the other players for their rookie seasons.

But I still like him, he is my favorite Hawk. I just don't think he will ever be as good as those names. I hope I am wrong.

---

Check your observation, there are only 3 players on that list that were younger than Horford:

Brand, O'Neil, and Howard

However, Horford is the worst scorer of the group. Al is going to be a very good player, but I don't think he'll be a superstar. Maybe if he moves over to PF he'll be better. A PG and an offensive system probably would help with Al's scoring as well.

[mrhonline]

I looked at rookies who averaged ~ the same FGA and rebs/min as Horford, and only Bill Laimbeer came up.

Not a bad person to be compared to.

[frosgrim]

If Al has a Lambier sort of career the Hawks have a very solid player. Hopefully Al's offense will increase to around 13-15 per game. His rebounding obviously is tremendous.

[exodus]

The thing that really surprised me about that list is that Deke averaged 16.6 pts as a rookie, which was the highest of his career.

[DrReality]

He can learn his offensive game and it will come as he matures. I think it is harder to teach what he is doing now. Either you have it or you don't. He reminds me of a young Theo Ratliff but has more potential.

[Blunt91]

I see Horford potentially averaging 14pts & 11rpg. In a few years these could be his numbers.

[exodus]

Quote:

---

I see Horford potentially averaging 14pts & 11rpg. In a few years these could be his numbers.

I hope so.

However I would like to think that the rest of the Hawks improve their rebounding (and maybe bring in another big who can rebound) which would make it tough for Horford to get 11 rebounds. If he averages 10 per game the rest of his career that is fine with me.

[JackB1]

I already knew this kid was something special...it's just the rest of you guys that are finally catching on

If the Hawks ever run some plays for him, he can average +15 pts per game easy. When you watch him play, it's so easy to forget this is his 1st season in the NBA.

The Hawks mgt should tie up this kid for many years to come. He will be the team captain one day.

[DJ_Money]

Just as a quick comparison...Durant's current scoring average (19.6) is would only be 65th best in the 3PT era. 59 players have hit 20 PPG.

Durant, of course, would have one of the lowest FG% of anyone in that group.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Quote:

---

Horford should be playing more that 31 mpg

---

I was referring to the other rookie.

[AHF]

Very interesting links! Thanks.

I noticed that Horford comes out even better in terms of defensive rebounding.

He is #8 in defensive rebounding (above Alonzo Mourning, Emeka Okafor, Hakeem Olajuwon and others). With the per 36 numbers he jumps to #5 overall - meaning that his per minute defensive rebounding is better than Tim Duncan, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon and others.

That is some nice company!

[exodus]

Quote:

---

I noticed that Horford comes out even better in terms of defensive rebounding.

Horford is currently ranked 10th in the league in defensive rebounding ratio. That makes our weakness as a team on the defensive boards even more annoying. We are currently 24th in the league in defensive rebounding.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

We are currently 24th in the league in defensive rebounding.

---

Imagine where we would be without him. *shudders*

[coachx]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

We are currently 24th in the league in defensive rebounding.

---

Imagine where we would be without him. *shudders*

---

In the same spot we were in last year.