A little TrueHoop love for this year's best rookie

[Hatertots]

Henry Abbott gets it:

Al Horford: Great Draft Pick

I see Horford as more of a leader now than ever, and a key reason Atlanta has a shot at winning a best-of-three series against the best team in the land.

* I already wrote about how impressed I was that he was the one to calm Zaza Pachulia down after that altercation with Kevin Garnett. (Same video as the last link.) A+.

* In all honesty, after not screaming at people all season, his screaming at Paul Pierce gave his team a big-time shot in the arm. It's not what you want every game, or almost ever, but it was exactly that his team needed just then. It told everyone that the Hawks were not, in their minds, underlings.

* Al Horford called down to his college video coordinator to get a copy of the Muhammad Ali documentary "When We Were Kings" to show to his teammates to get them fired up. Are you kidding me? Are a lot of rookies even thinking about how to lift up their teammates in this way? I think not.

* He can play! Here's ESPN's David Thorpe, in his Scouts Inc. preview of tonight's game, calling for Horford to be a bigger part of the offense when it matters. "The energized crowd in Atlanta helped the Hawks crawl back into the game after they were behind early (13 points) and then again at the end of the third quarter (10). Doing so, once or twice, will be much tougher in Boston, so coach Mike Woodson has to pick three or four of his best plays to immediately go to when facing a strong Boston run. Horford inside is one, Smith in open space is a second and anything involving Johnson ranks after those two options."

Thorpe also talked a fair amount about Horford in his preview of Game 4. It makes me think Horford might have a little bit of what makes Tim Duncan such a great teammate: that "Mother Hen" instinct -- to want to make sure his teammates are all feeling good. Thorpe writes:

Boston also needs to respect Al Horford more than it has. He sometimes has gone unchecked in the paint when Boston has 'zoned up' underneath on perimeter ball screens. Both Kendrick Perkins and KG have made that mistake, resulting in a dunk or foul.

Finding Horford should be the No. 1 priority in those situations -- his hands are too good and he's too accomplished a finisher to be left unaccounted for inside. Horford was a larger part of the offense in Game 3 (only about three months late), routinely posting up and making easy kick-out passes when Boston did surround him, or hitting cutters for easy buckets. His six assists added up to 15 points, and his teammates moved smartly after the entry pass instead of standing and watching.

In many ways, Horford already is the best leader on this team. He is its spirit and has a lot of influence on Josh Smith, Atlanta's supreme X factor. Late in Game 3, when Smith seemed to relax and enjoy Atlanta's lead, it was Horford who grabbed Smith's head with both hands and talked with him for a few moments. Smith immediately stopped smiling and plugged back in to the Hawks' huddle. If Boston can do a better job of derailing Horford, it will go a long way toward locking up Round 1.

[coachx]

I love the Ali movie part !

[Admin]

I was just about to post this. My favorite part is this:

Quote:

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In many ways, Horford already is the best leader on this team. He is its spirit and has a lot of influence on Josh Smith, Atlanta's supreme X factor. Late in Game 3, when Smith seemed to relax and enjoy Atlanta's lead, it was Horford who grabbed Smith's head with both hands and talked with him for a few moments. Smith immediately stopped smiling and plugged back in to the Hawks' huddle. If Boston can do a better job of derailing Horford, it will go a long way toward locking up Round 1.

I REALLY hope that we work the 2 man game inside out with Horford and JJ tonight. Keep Bibby and JJ on opposite sides of the court with Marvin/Childress floating around, Smoove at the top, and big Al down low. Feed it into him and let him make the decision on what to do with the ball. If he is doubled he can kick out to the perimeter, otherwise he can take it strong to the hole and as soon as he makes his move Childress/Marvin should be cutting to the basket looking for the offensive rebound. If Smoove gets the ball at the top of the key he should look to get KG or whoever guards him off of his feet or off balance with the fake and then take it strong where he is almost unstoppable. If they collapse he should have plenty of open guys to pass the ball to.

I love that JJ took over the game in the 4th last time but that's not good offense and it's very unlikely that we can win on a regular basis like that. We need to defend, stop ball penetration, rebound, run, and share the ball on offense.