Horford a successful Center?

[A-town Hawks]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Diesel, Its not only defensive problems that having Smoove at the SF would bring. Its probably moreso offensively that we would be tampering with his potential in this league.

Smoove is NOT a shooter, and I know you brought up the fact that our current SF Marvin was just 1-10 on 3pt shooting this past season, and he's certainly not a great shooter either. But with that said do you notice how many people on this board has had enough of him? and how many people are only willing to give him 1 more year to improve on this or else its the boot? Having Smith at the SF would be 10x WORSE! as he isnt even near the mid range shooter marvin is allowing the opposing teams SF to sag off of Smith at the 3 and provide help D on the man YOU say would be better at the 4 AL HORFORD! Also the difference between the already bad Marvin Williams at the 3 and the absolutely horrible thought of having Smith at the 3 is that with Marvin being 1-10 on 3pt fg's atleast it says that Marvin cant shoot the 3 and is not willing to shoot the three. Having the trigger happy at times/wild smoove there dont be suprised to see 1-50 on 3pt fg's by the all star break!

This is fiddle faddle.

Right now... Smoove plays a Sf's game offensively. Think about it. He stands on the perimeter. He drives sometimes. He's left wide open in the midcourt far more than Marvin. He rarely plays in the post. Our offense has struggled because we don't get consistent scoring from down low. Therefore, we go as our shooters go. When JJ and Bibby and Smoove are off, we're off.

If we were able to bring in a post player, our gameplan doesn't change (as it relates to Smoove). He can still do the same things he would do if we called in a 4. The only difference is that we would have another player in the low post who can score and rebound. Moreover, we would take Horf to the high post where I believe he'd be more comfortable.

You cant just go and say someones post which is listing reasons that contradict yours is just all fiddle faddle without disproving anything i said. Come on you should know that.

Smoove does play a PF games very well, he does it in a different fashion than most PF's in this leagueand I don't see why we should penalize him or doubt him for it. Smith in my opinion is like Amare he uses his quickness and athleticism to do alot for him. Amare like smith isnt the greatest in the low post but he does alot of hard drives that get him close to the rim and on the line from the high post and from the short baseline as well. Smoove is like Amare in that matter but is less of a midrange shooter making even Amare more suitable for the SF than Smith is, and you dont see anyone saying the Amare should a 3.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Diesel, Its not only defensive problems that having Smoove at the SF would bring. Its probably moreso offensively that we would be tampering with his potential in this league.

Smoove is NOT a shooter, and I know you brought up the fact that our current SF Marvin was just 1-10 on 3pt shooting this past season, and he's certainly not a great shooter either. But with that said do you notice how many people on this board has had enough of him? and how many people are only willing to give him 1 more year to improve on this or else its the boot? Having Smith at the SF would be 10x WORSE! as he isnt even near the mid range shooter marvin is allowing the opposing teams SF to sag off of Smith at the 3 and provide help D on the man YOU say would be better at the 4 AL HORFORD! Also the difference between the already bad Marvin Williams at the 3 and the absolutely horrible thought of having Smith at the 3 is that with Marvin being 1-10 on 3pt fg's atleast it says that Marvin cant shoot the 3 and is not willing to shoot the three. Having the trigger happy at times/wild smoove there dont be suprised to see 1-50 on 3pt fg's by the all star break!

This is fiddle faddle.

Right now... Smoove plays a Sf's game offensively. Think about it. He stands on the perimeter. He drives sometimes. He's left wide open in the midcourt far more than Marvin. He rarely plays in the post. Our offense has struggled because we don't get consistent scoring from down low. Therefore, we go as our shooters go. When JJ and Bibby and Smoove are off, we're off.

If we were able to bring in a post player, our gameplan doesn't change (as it relates to Smoove). He can still do the same things he would do if we called in a 4. The only difference is that we would have another player in the low post who can score and rebound. Moreover, we would take Horf to the high post where I believe he'd be more comfortable.

You cant just go and say someones post which is listing reasons that contradict yours is just all fiddle faddle without disproving anything i said. Come on you should know that.

Smoove does play a PF games very well, he does it in a different fashion than most PF's in this leagueand I don't see why we should penalize him or doubt him for it. Smith in my opinion is like Amare he uses his quickness and athleticism to do alot for him. Amare like smith isnt the greatest in the low post but he does alot of hard drives that get him close to the rim and on the line from the high post and from the short baseline as well. Smoove is like Amare in that matter but is less of a midrange shooter making even Amare more suitable for the SF than Smith is, and you dont see anyone saying the Amare should a 3.

This is what I called Fiddle Faddle...

Quote:

---

Smoove is NOT a shooter, and I know you brought up the fact that our current SF Marvin was just 1-10 on 3pt shooting this past season, and he's certainly not a great shooter either. But with that said do you notice how many people on this board has had enough of him?[/quote]

What does this board's thoughts have to do with weather or not Smoove should play 3?

[AtLaS]

We can't play Smith at the 3 even if he could guard 3's because we'd be the worst shooting team in the NBA once Acie becomes the starter. We will never win like that.

[A-town Hawks]

Quote:

---

This is what I called Fiddle Faddle...

Smoove is NOT a shooter, and I know you brought up the fact that our current SF Marvin was just 1-10 on 3pt shooting this past season, and he's certainly not a great shooter either.

But with that said do you notice how many people on this board has had enough of him?

What does this board's thoughts have to do with weather or not Smoove should play 3?

How is that fiddle faddle?? It's the same point brought up earlier with Kirelenko's move to the 3. He was a big player for the Jazz when he was a 4 and boozer wasn't there, then when he had to go to the 3 you saw his whole game and value go down the drain. I think that can easily happen to smoove for the same reasons I posted in my so called "fiddle faddle" that you failed to comprehend.

We need to learn from there mistake. Getting Boozer was a good move for them, no doubt, but they basically destroyed the career of kirelenko in the process. Imagine if they somehow used Kirelenko the right way as a 4, he begins to do the same things he used to, and if Boozer still is Boozer. Maybe they would actually get to the finals.

But were in a much better position then they are unlike Boozer, Al has shown us that he can man down the Center position and do it at a high level in his rookie year! Lets let him get even more experience at the 5 and let his body/game develop to be even more adapted to the stress of being/defending at the 5. Then let Josh flourish where he has been best at the 4. A horford smith frontline in a few years will be ELITE.

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

If Al ever wants to be anything on offense he's going to have to become a lot more aggressive facing up. The only way you can get away with not exploiting that mismatch is if you are a true low post beast, and unfortunately for Al, he doesn't have the size (Yao), athleticism (Dwight), or post facility (Duncan) to be an elite offensive player without a very good faceup game (which Yao and Duncan have by the way).

You don't limit a guy to an unnatural position simply because you don't believe that he can play a certain way. Al's natural position is PF. Period. We do him a disservice playing him out of position. Period. I say you put him High Post ala Karl Malone and you see what he can do.

What are you talking about?

The entire problem with Al's offensive game is that he doesn't show enough aggression in the high post so people assume that if he was listed as a power forward he would be able to play against power forwards in the low post.

If you put Zydrunas Ilgauskas on Karl Malone, Malone would laugh and then drive right by him. When Z was iso'd against Al, he stood in the high post and waited for someone to pass to. His problem right now is that he isn't exploiting mistmatches, he feels most comfortable on offense in the post but his post game is based mainly on power, not finesse, and in the NBA most 6'10 power post players get defended by centers unless they can make them pay.

You brought up Karl Malone, if you watched Karl Malone (and I know you did) you would have seen a player who was far more aggressive and proficient facing up than Al. You would have seen a "power forward" who was often defended by centers. Same thing with Boozer, Jefferson, McHale, and Brand.

Al Horford, at this point in his NBA career, does not like to face up and drive by slower players. He has to do that if he wants to be a good offensive player. That has nothing to do with position, it has to do with size, athleticism, and skillset.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

If Al ever wants to be anything on offense he's going to have to become a lot more aggressive facing up. The only way you can get away with not exploiting that mismatch is if you are a true low post beast, and unfortunately for Al, he doesn't have the size (Yao), athleticism (Dwight), or post facility (Duncan) to be an elite offensive player without a very good faceup game (which Yao and Duncan have by the way).

You don't limit a guy to an unnatural position simply because you don't believe that he can play a certain way. Al's natural position is PF. Period. We do him a disservice playing him out of position. Period. I say you put him High Post ala Karl Malone and you see what he can do.

What are you talking about?

The entire problem with Al's offensive game is that he doesn't show enough aggression in the high post so people assume that if he was listed as a power forward he would be able to play against power forwards in the low post.

If you put Zydrunas Ilgauskas on Karl Malone, Malone would laugh and then drive right by him. When Z was iso'd against Al, he stood in the high post and waited for someone to pass to. His problem right now is that he isn't exploiting mistmatches, he feels most comfortable on offense in the post but his post game is based mainly on power, not finesse, and in the NBA most 6'10 power post players get defended by centers unless they can make them pay.

You brought up Karl Malone, if you watched Karl Malone (and I know you did) you would have seen a player who was far more aggressive and proficient facing up than Al. You would have seen a "power forward" who was often defended by centers. Same thing with Boozer, Jefferson, McHale, and Brand.

Al Horford, at this point in his NBA career, does not like to face up and drive by slower players. He has to do that if he wants to be a good offensive player. That has nothing to do with position, it has to do with size, athleticism, and skillset.

How do you ever expect Al to progress in his most natural position of PF if all you ever play him at is C? He's a PF. Period. We're playing him at Center out of convenience to satisfy what was a BK mistake. However, He's a PF. Even if all the things you say are true about his skillset. He's still capable of being a 15/10 player at PF. Why are we playing him at Center??

Crimedog, you're not making sense. You state:

Quote:

---

The entire problem with Al's offensive game is that he doesn't show enough aggression in the high post so people assume that if he was listed as a power forward he would be able to play against power forwards in the low post.

First off, nobody ever said that he'd do better against PFs in the low post? At least I have said that I think he'd do better as a High post PF with a Center that plays low post or a Center who can clear out the low post. Al doesn't have a back to the basket game. IN the low post, he's easy to double team. He has a face up offense. We should be playing him at PF.

All that stated though Crime Dog... we need more honesty on the board.

We're not playing Al at Center because of his skillset or lack of Athleticism. Be Honest. We're playing him there because we have a log jam at our forward positions and Center was open. He's not a Center. My mentioning Karl Malone was never about weather or not Horf has his skillset. It was about the stupidity of playing a natural PF at Center. Even though Utah could have done that, they rather go out and get the Mark Eaton's or the Isaac Austin's and play them there and allow Malone to stay at PF.

[A-town Hawks]

Quote:

---

All that stated though Crime Dog... we need more honesty on the board.

We're not playing Al at Center because of his skillset or lack of Athleticism. Be Honest. We're playing him there because we have a log jam at our forward positions and Center was open. He's not a Center. My mentioning Karl Malone was never about weather or not Horf has his skillset. It was about the stupidity of playing a natural PF at Center. Even though Utah could have done that, they rather go out and get the Mark Eaton's or the Isaac Austin's and play them there and allow Malone to stay at PF.

Were playing AL at the 5 because Smoove has proven to us that he is not as valuable nor as effective as at the 3 and he needs to be a 4 to fulfill his potential, and because Horford has proven to us that he can successful handle the Center position and still show us the potential that we all see in him today.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

All that stated though Crime Dog... we need more honesty on the board.

We're not playing Al at Center because of his skillset or lack of Athleticism. Be Honest. We're playing him there because we have a log jam at our forward positions and Center was open. He's not a Center. My mentioning Karl Malone was never about weather or not Horf has his skillset. It was about the stupidity of playing a natural PF at Center. Even though Utah could have done that, they rather go out and get the Mark Eaton's or the Isaac Austin's and play them there and allow Malone to stay at PF.

Were playing AL at the 5 because Smoove has proven to us that he is not as valuable nor as effective as at the 3 and he needs to be a 4 to fulfill his potential, and because Horford has proven to us that he can successful handle the Center position and still show us the potential that we all see in him today.

Smoove has proven to us that he is not as valuable nor as effective at the 3.... WHEN?

According to 82 games.com, Smoove played SF 0% of the time this year!!

So you're obviously talking about last year or the year before that? If it were last year and Smoove was playing Sf... Who was playing PF? Couldn't have been Marvin because Marvin was out. So you're saying when Smoove was a younger player.... Well, let's look anyway..

2006-2007 Josh Smith 5 man units

I figure the only time Smoove was playing Sf was when Marvin was not in the lineup. Welp, these are Smoove's top 10 lineups...

Notice the lineup without Marvin in it is:

Claxton-J.Johnson-Smith-S.Williams-Pachulia

124 minutes. 6 wins, 8 losses. Blah blah blah.

Let me ask you.

Can't we put a much better lineup on the floor with Smoove now?

I mean, this is your proof that Smoove cannot play Sf? Playing beside Shelden and Pachulia in Shelden's rookie year, when Shelden was a deer in headlights (at the beginning of the season). Also playing with an oft injured Speedy Claxton who never really developed a team chemistry?? For grins I also looked up Speedy and Shelden's top 5 lineups and this is the lineup that they played in the most.

You can't look at experimentation and use that as a basis for player evaluation. That's the kinda thinking that BK took when he went after JJ. Remember, JJ will be our PG? That's because in Phoenix JJ looked good spelling Nash at PG. Does that mean his best position was PG? Obviously not.

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

How do you ever expect Al to progress in his most natural position of PF if all you ever play him at is C? He's a PF. Period. We're playing him at Center out of convenience to satisfy what was a BK mistake. However, He's a PF. Even if all the things you say are true about his skillset. He's still capable of being a 15/10 player at PF. Why are we playing him at Center??

First off, nobody ever said that he'd do better against PFs in the low post? At least I have said that I think he'd do better as a High post PF with a Center that plays low post or a Center who can clear out the low post. Al doesn't have a back to the basket game. IN the low post, he's easy to double team. He has a face up offense. We should be playing him at PF.

All that stated though Crime Dog... we need more honesty on the board.

We're not playing Al at Center because of his skillset or lack of Athleticism. Be Honest. We're playing him there because we have a log jam at our forward positions and Center was open. He's not a Center. My mentioning Karl Malone was never about weather or not Horf has his skillset. It was about the stupidity of playing a natural PF at Center. Even though Utah could have done that, they rather go out and get the Mark Eaton's or the Isaac Austin's and play them there and allow Malone to stay at PF.

I completely agree that if we had a better center on the roster but not a better power forward, we would be playing Al at PF. I also think that in this era (and past ones) Al would be classified as an F/C on any team.

Now my question was what are the functional differences Al would enjoy on offense if we played him as a PF instead of a C? I think most people will agree that Al's problem on offense is that he doesn't want to face-up and drive by slower centers from the high post even when he has the chance, I'm not sure why he would want to do it against quicker and more athletic PFs. I figured that you were in the camp that Al would have a size/strength advantage against most PFs so he would be able to overpower them down low and I was just pointing out that if he did have that advantage but still wasn't taking advantage of his quickness against centers, he'd be defended by centers.

Now if you think Al would benefit from playing next to a dominant low post scorer who could draw the double, sure, I agree. You aren't going to get a guy like Yao, Duncan, Dwight, or Oden for anyone on our roster though and the other dominant low post scorers in this league are guys that you would probably label as PFs who don't have to play with more dominant low post players to be effective (Boozer, Jefferson, Brand).

Mark Eaton and Karl Malone reinforce my point that playing Al at PF would help him on D. Malone wasn't a great shotblocker, Eaton was. Eaton was a non-factor on offense. A coach would never game plan for Mark Eaton, Malone would be guarded by the best man for the job whether it was a center or a PF and Eaton would get points off of doubles to him.

[Traceman]

My point is that IF Horford could be as good as Boozer at PF ( a perennial All Star), then we probably need to figure out a way to play him there. I am well aware that sometimes he might be guarded by Centers if he plays PF.

Horford's skills are still developing. His mid range J from the high post is getting better but it is a work in progress and needs to be more consistent. He is also showing the ability to hit a little turnaround J on the baseline. He needs to contine to work on his drop step and his jump hook in the low post but he did execute both moves at times last year.

As for facing up and driving by bigger/slower players, I think that will come but putting the ball on the floor in traffic is obviously not within his comfort zone yet. When the opportunity presented itself last year, he seemed to settle for the J or pass the ball rather than force the issue. As his game develops, I think he will improve on that as well.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Now my question was what are the functional differences Al would enjoy on offense if we played him as a PF instead of a C? I think most people will agree that Al's problem on offense is that he doesn't want to face-up and drive by slower centers from the high post even when he has the chance, I'm not sure why he would want to do it against quicker and more athletic PFs. I figured that you were in the camp that Al would have a size/strength advantage against most PFs so he would be able to overpower them down low and I was just pointing out that if he did have that advantage but still wasn't taking advantage of his quickness against centers, he'd be defended by centers.

I don't think we can make a call on Horf's skillset just yet. He's still maturing as an NBA player. However, he has been effective face to the basket moreso than back to the basket. At Center, he's pushed to do more back to the basket and that has not been his game historically. He doesn't spot the doubles coming. We're hurting him.

The video clearly depicts that even though we don't see it quite enough, when he faces up, he does have some of those abilities that you speak of.

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

My point is that IF Horford could be as good as Boozer at PF ( a perennial All Star), then we probably need to figure out a way to play him there. I am well aware that sometimes he might be guarded by Centers if he plays PF.

Horford's skills are still developing. His mid range J from the high post is getting better but it is a work in progress and needs to be more consistent. He is also showing the ability to hit a little turnaround J on the baseline. He needs to contine to work on his drop step and his jump hook in the low post but he did execute both moves at times last year.

As for facing up and driving by bigger/slower players, I think that will come but putting the ball on the floor in traffic is obviously not within his comfort zone yet. When the opportunity presented itself last year, he seemed to settle for the J or pass the ball rather than force the issue. As his game develops, I think he will improve on that as well.

My point is that Boozer plays with Memhet Okur and AK47 in the frontcourt. Boozer always gets defended by a center. If Horford ever becomes as good as Booz on offense, he will be able to do it against centers.

Therefore, having any debate about Horford's offensive ability being massively hindered because he has to guard centers is pointless because in many cases there is no fundamental difference on offense b/w a power forward and center.

Do you get my point now?

[exodus]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

My point is that IF Horford could be as good as Boozer at PF ( a perennial All Star), then we probably need to figure out a way to play him there. I am well aware that sometimes he might be guarded by Centers if he plays PF.

Horford's skills are still developing. His mid range J from the high post is getting better but it is a work in progress and needs to be more consistent. He is also showing the ability to hit a little turnaround J on the baseline. He needs to contine to work on his drop step and his jump hook in the low post but he did execute both moves at times last year.

As for facing up and driving by bigger/slower players, I think that will come but putting the ball on the floor in traffic is obviously not within his comfort zone yet. When the opportunity presented itself last year, he seemed to settle for the J or pass the ball rather than force the issue. As his game develops, I think he will improve on that as well.

My point is that Boozer plays with Memhet Okur and AK47 in the frontcourt. Boozer always gets defended by a center. If Horford ever becomes as good as Booz on offense, he will be able to do it against centers.

Therefore, having any debate about Horford's offensive ability being massively hindered because he has to guard centers is pointless because in many cases there is no fundamental difference on offense b/w a power forward and center.

Do you get my point now?

Since you are new i should explain something about Diesel.

He thinks Marvin is the devil and the majority of his posts (in this case moving Horford to the 4 and Smith to the 3) can be traced to his Marvin hate.

Your point, no matter how well stated, will fall on deaf ears.

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

I don't think we can make a call on Horf's skillset just yet. He's still maturing as an NBA player. However, he has been effective face to the basket moreso than back to the basket. At Center, he's pushed to do more back to the basket and that has not been his game historically. He doesn't spot the doubles coming. We're hurting him.

The video clearly depicts that even though we don't see it quite enough, when he faces up, he does have some of those abilities that you speak of.

I know he has those abilities, I'd just like to see him use them more to create mistmatches. As traceman said, too often when he is facing up against a center he holds the ball and looks to pass when he should be driving in for a dunk or getting fouled.

He wasn't primarily a face-up scorer in college so I'm not sure where you are getting that from (or if you are saying that at all). I've seen exodus say the same sort of thing that traceman and I just said, he doesn't assert himself nearly enough when he has a quickness mismatch in the high post, he seems to still want to back guys down but he can't always do that in the NBA because he isn't the biggest guy on the court anymore.

I agree with you that we can't make a definitive call on his skills just yet but its not like we are forcing him into a role that he can't handle, half of his shots are jumpers... he isn't sitting in the post all day.

I think Al will be fine on offense regardless of the position he plays but it isn't going to matter either way until he either gets more aggressive when he faces up or he refines his low post game to the point of consistency (or hopefully both). Like I said, Brand and Boozer have NO problem playing centers on offense, why will Al?

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

Since you are new i should explain something about Diesel.

He thinks Marvin is the devil and the majority of his posts (in this case moving Horford to the 4 and Smith to the 3) can be traced to his Marvin hate.

Your point, no matter how well stated, will fall on deaf ears.

Haha. Thanks for the tip.

I'm not the biggest Marv fan myself, I wouldn't mind moving him now for the right peices instead of worrying about paying him later. 'Course, I'd rather have Marv-Smith-Al than Smith-Al-Pryz or something like that.

[A-town Hawks]

I think the Utah comparison is very much like our case here in ATL. Boozer like Al has no inside presence next to him, he has another big who like to drift around the baseline and high post and ignitiate his offense from there. Most opposing Centers are too slow to go out that far so instead they are put on Boozer who likes to play closer in at the high post.

Boozer ABUSES them for it not because he is the tallest or even the strongest, because he is way to quick and skilled for a Center to D him. Thats what Al is, Al can be our Center and still be at the High post with Smith liking to be a slasher and starting his drives from outside the paint. Just because Al is listed at Center doesn't mean he is obligated to the low post. Different offenses are created for different teams and are adapted to the players.

Now defensively I have no problems with Al at Center position, the kid has one of the highest B-ball IQ's i've seen in a looong time, and that will only get better with time. Al knows his strengths and he has showed us very early in his career that he can defend Center's without a problem. Not once do I recall watching a game and saying "man, Al sucks on D" or "Bring in Zaza to defend him". The kid handles his, ofcourse he may give up a good game every once in awhile to a freak like Yao or Dwight but thats nothing out of the ordinary.

Im all for bringing in a defensive 7 footer to give us more shotblocking, depth, and presence but I have no doubts that Al is able to do a beautiful job for us at the 5 and will develop no matter if he's listed in the book as a PF or C.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Since you are new i should explain something about Diesel.

He thinks Marvin is the devil and the majority of his posts (in this case moving Horford to the 4 and Smith to the 3) can be traced to his Marvin hate.

Your point, no matter how well stated, will fall on deaf ears.

Haha. Thanks for the tip.

I'm not the biggest Marv fan myself, I wouldn't mind moving him now for the right peices instead of worrying about paying him later. 'Course, I'd rather have Marv-Smith-Al than Smith-Al-Pryz or something like that.

Now that you have said something that is as honest and intelligent as wanting to make this team better by Moving Marv for the right pieces, the Marvin Nuthugger society has marked you too!

Welcome!

[Traceman]

I think it IS conceivable that the pounding that Horford will take guarding players who are bigger than he is (most Centers) COULD affect his offense to some degree by wearing him down throughout the course of the game. How much (or little), I don't know.

I agree that if Horford becomes as good as Boozer, he will be able to score against ANYBODY whether they be Centers, PFs or any other position.

as far as I am concerned. I must have missed something that someone else said earlier in the thread.

[crimedog]

Quote:

---

I think it IS conceivable that the pounding that Horford will take guarding players who are bigger than he is (most Centers) COULD affect his offense to some degree by wearing him down throughout the course of the game. How much (or little), I don't know.

I agree that if Horford becomes as good as Boozer, he will be able to score against ANYBODY whether they be Centers, PFs or any other position.

as far as I am concerned. I must have missed something that someone else said earlier in the thread.

You said that if Horford could be as good as Boozer we should move him to PF, I said that Boozer plays against centers so the comparison is moot. Must have been a misunderstanding somewhere.

[Traceman]

What I actually said was:

Quote:

---

If Horford can become Boozer at the 4

, it might not be all bad but I wouldn't want to pay Smoove $12M a season for the 11 ppg, 5 rbg, 4 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.2 spg that Kirilenko averaged last year.

We certainly have a dliemna if indeed Horford could be Boozer at PF

. That said, I think Smoove is going to be a LOT bigger and stronger than Kirilenko ever was at PF and he might end up being better than Boozer at PF too, just different.

I think Boozer is a top 10 player in the entire NBA and if moving Al to PF would make him a top 10 player in the NBA, I think it would be the right thing to do. I was thinking in terms of us KNOWING that Al would be as good as Boozer at PF. That certainly may not be the case and in fact, it probably ISN'T the case. T