How good can Horford get?

[bumpyphish1]

Now that everyone is a believer (and Diesel, exodus - I remember you specifically and patronizingly detracted before and after the pick), how high do you all think this guy's ceiling is? How many points will he be capable of when he passes through the introductory phase of the NBA? Can he grab Dwight Howard amounts of rebounds consistently?

[Diesel]

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Now that everyone is a believer (and Diesel, exodus - I remember you specifically and patronizingly detracted before and after the pick), how high do you all think this guy's ceiling is? How many points will he be capable of when he passes through the introductory phase of the NBA? Can he grab Dwight Howard amounts of rebounds consistently?

I'll say the sky is the limit.

However,

if we want to put some type of comparison on him... I would say:

Elton Brand with less post dominance and more charisma.

Maybe a Jermaine Oneal with less injuries and more Heart.

I think his size is going to be a major factor... because he's a natural PF. For that reason, I don't see him challenging Howard. Let's get it straight, in a few years, Howard will be the most dominant big in the game. Nobody is as strong as Howard. However, the fact that Horf can play Physical basketball, means that he will be able to mix it up with anybody.

[bumpyphish1]

that was pretty timely. I think your comparison to Brand and saying Dwight is stronger are good points. Still, can I just hear you say you were wrong after the draft?

[bumpyphish1]

oh, and for my prediction, I think his improvement in rebounding from here on will be marginal. however, i wouldn't put it past this boy to average 25 ppg but i think 20+ is probably realistic. his improvement will be in scoring - he has already showed an increased aptitude for post scoring in this celtics series.

[wakingup]

The way he's playing now I wouldn't be surprised if he basically went into Karl Malone territory - too bad he doesn't have Stockton to help him. And I agree that Dwight Howard will be the next Shaq

[Eddielives]

I remember making that comparison a while ago. I can't be sure but I believe it was exodus who soundly rejected that comparison. I think I said Horf could eventually be a 20 and 10 guy. This was met with a bit of ridicule. Now I think it is more accepted.

[frosgrim]

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The way he's playing now I wouldn't be surprised if he basically went into Karl Malone territory - too bad he doesn't have Stockton to help him. And I agree that Dwight Howard will be the next Shaq

Lets see what Law can develop into. He is more athletic than Stockton, and seems to have Stockton's mental toughness. Just for a reminder Stockton, was not very good his first season. Sloan rode John to get better and helped him get there with coaching. I really believe that Law can develop into a very, very good point (assuming he gets coaching).

I agree that Hoford looks like Karl Malone with a better attitude. They are of similar size when they came into the NBA and their games look similar. Horford just needs to develop a little more on all phases of his offense, just like Karl did over the years.

[Diesel]

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that was pretty timely. I think your comparison to Brand and saying Dwight is stronger are good points. Still, can I just hear you say you were wrong after the draft?

My take on the draft is exactly this.

I felt that getting YI would be better than getting Al because with Yi, we had a guy who was definitely Sf and would not contribute to logjam and that Al could not play C.

Well, I was wrong about Al not being able to play C. Still, I believethat Al is a PF.

I still believe that in a few years, Yi will be a star in this league.

[Diesel]

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The way he's playing now I wouldn't be surprised if he basically went into Karl Malone territory - too bad he doesn't have Stockton to help him. And I agree that Dwight Howard will be the next Shaq

For Al to move into Karl Malone territory, his ability to score is going to have to get better.

[thesheedera]

No limit as a PF. Pretty dang good as a center.

His post offense is noticeably better now than at the beginning of the year. Still raw, but there's no reason why he can't become an excellent post scorer. He has the coordination, the touch, the willingness to get tough and I think he has the brains to work a guy over the course of a game with different set ups and post moves. Last part a complete guess, but he appears to be more cerebral than most guys to me.

Joe Johnson is the best player on this team.

Josh Smith is the most physically gifted by a long shot.

Al Horford may have the best career of the three.

[AnakinJoe]

I say Carlos Boozer type numbers. I don't see him scoring much more than 19-21 points, but definitely 12-14 boards. And as importantly, team leader!

[exodus]

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(and Diesel, exodus - I remember you specifically and patronizingly detracted before and after the pick),

I had a problem with Horford as a full time center then and that hasn't changed. It is clear now that his best position is the 4. But my real problem was some of the ridiculous comparisons that i saw.

There were a bunch of people comparing him to guys like Amare and Ben Wallace (neither of whom start at center any more) purely based on size. I also remember comparisons to Alonzo who averaged 20/10 with 3 blocks as a rookie.

Those comparisons were and are ridiculous.

As far as the pick goes Horford/Law was my second choice so it wasn't as though i hated the pick. I was afraid of Yi and Wright. After the draft i was more relieved than anything and i can easily pull quotes if you doubt this.

As far as how good he can get it really comes down to his scoring. I have said all along that he isn't going to be a bigtime scorer trying to back guys down. He just isn't big enough. He needs to face up and use his quickness against bigger guys.

He has been making strides in that direction. He started taking his midrange jumpers and hitting them at a reasonable clip. But i want to see him driving more the way Smith does so effectively. And it will take time for him to learn what moves to make and when to make them. Smith and Horford both need to be more patient inside. They tend to rush shots over bigger guys instead of being patient and trying to get around them.

I like his turnaround J a lot. His jump hook is ok but i would prefer that he use it less often and try to position himself to use the glass more often on that shot.

I don't see anything major that would hold him back as a scorer but it will take time for him to develop his game. His lack of aggressiveness is a concern but that may be just a case of being a tentative rookie. We probably won't get a good idea of what kind of scorer he will be until year 3 or 4.

At the least i feel confident he can be a 15/10 player which is what i was hoping he would be on draft. That might not sound like much but there aren't many guys who are doing that. As far as producing more than that i am reluctant to make that call but it is a possibility. only time will tell.

[wakingup]

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The way he's playing now I wouldn't be surprised if he basically went into Karl Malone territory - too bad he doesn't have Stockton to help him. And I agree that Dwight Howard will be the next Shaq

For Al to move into Karl Malone territory, his ability to score is going to have to get better.

I don't know the Jazz team when Malone was a rookie, whether or not he had someone else doing the load of scoring, but Joe does it here. Malone was 14/8.9 in his rookie season, Horford has 4 less points, about half a rebound more and half a block more or so. So the only glaring difference is Malone's 4+ points. His second season he was 21/10, so I guess if Horford does want to be that good he'll have to score more, but on this team he doesn't really need to.

[Cwell]

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that was pretty timely. I think your comparison to Brand and saying Dwight is stronger are good points. Still, can I just hear you say you were wrong after the draft?

My take on the draft is exactly this.

I felt that getting YI would be better than getting Al because with Yi, we had a guy who was definitely Sf and would not contribute to logjam and that Al could not play C.

Well, I was wrong about Al not being able to play C. Still, I believethat Al is a PF.

I still believe that in a few years, Yi will be a star in this league. funny how Sloan did the same with Deron and now he's great also.but Woody has Acie riding the bench.NO has Chris Paul and u know he plays alot of minutes yet look at his backup Janero Pargo,he still manages to have about 20 minutes at the end.

[exodus]

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I felt that getting YI would be better than getting Al because with Yi, we had a guy who was

definitely Sf and would not contribute to logjam

Huh?

[pimp]

The intensity horford displays on the court reminds me of Sir Charles.

[DJlaysitup]

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...He has been making strides in that direction. He started taking his midrange jumpers and hitting them at a reasonable clip. But i want to see him driving more the way Smith does so effectively. And it will take time for him to learn what moves to make and when to make them...

The thing I like about AH and JS is the way they seem to learn/improve weaknesses quickly. Honestly ex...who would have thought we would be praising Josh Smith's driving last year. The only thing the guy could finish last year was a dunk.

Also, at the beginning of this year there was concern about AH's free throw shooting. I don't know how many practice FTs he took but it musta been like a million...his percentage is up and he hits them in the clutch.

The ability to learn quickly in the NBA is key (IMO). Whouda thought that RRondo would be hitting jumpshots this year while Acie struggles. RRondo couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in college and Acie was an elite clutch shooter. Just goes to show - after the draft everybody is basically starting afresh and they all have to show what they can do at the next level.

I'm pretty confident that AH will be a solid to great PF in the league - he seems to have the talent, work ethic and drive to excel.

[BusBoyIsBack]

I think it's safe to say those Shelden Williams comparisons should never be made again.

Horford has potential to be Brand/Boozer