Sign of disrespect: Limiting Big Al's minutes in favor of Jason Collins?

[hawks21]

Al Horford is an emotional leader and talks a good game, and I would prefer him over Marvin Williams any day. However, we are slowly learning that Horford has LIMITATIONS offensively and defensively. Dwight Howard's presence at 6'10/ 265 or against a Lakers' frontline of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gosol or Cleveland's Big Z or Boston's Kendrick Perkins/Glen Big Baby Davis is a big problem.

Al Horford is no Carlos Boozer.

Al Horford is no Amare Stoudamire.

Al Horford is no Tim Duncan.

Al Horford is no Lamarcus Aldridge.

Horford, at times, is a liability at both the power forward and center position.

Horford is a quick, athletic, emotional player, but rarely able to use it to his advantage offensively. Horford, at times, gets man-handled and needs HELP like he did against Orlando.

Horford's TWO-POINT PERFORMANCE AT HOME against the Magic is embarrassing, but he has done this before against bigger, better competition.

Unfortunately, Al will never be an ALL-STAR player. So what can the Hawks do about it?

I am not advocating Big Al be benched, but we need to see what Jason Collins can do with 15 to 18 minutes a game.

Al should be seen a situational player. TWO POINTS in one of the most important games of the year should give all Hawks' fans pause. Yes, he is young, but that shouldn't be an excuse. Dwight Howard is YOUNG. Amare is only 26. Aldridge is only 24.

Edited November 27, 2009 by hawks21

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Jason

Collins

Is

GARBAGE.

He's always been garbage. And a guy like Dwight Howard would've eaten him alive. If the guy was halfway decent, why didn't any other team even try to pick him up? We signed that dude pretty late in the free agency summer season. The dude is garbage.

But if you really want to believe that he may have made a difference in last night's game, go knock yourself out.

[spotatl]

read this article and still tell me you think Collins should be getting minutes on an NBA play off team.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=3315

[TheNorthCydeRises]

read this article and still tell me you think Collins should be getting minutes on an NBA play off team.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=3315

Let me take that back. Jason Collins isn't garbage, he's more like a LANDFILL. Damn, I knew he was horrible, but not THAT HORRIBLE.

And people want this dude to get time every night? LOL . . give me Garret Siler, before Collins.

If our main guys can't get it done on a given night, we're not going to win. Plain and simple.

[Atlantaholic]

Jason Collins...

Really?

He is possibly the worst professional sports player in america.

[spotatl]

Just because Sund made the mistake of signing the guy doesn't mean Woodson should make the mistake even worse by playing him until even the fanboys here understand how bad he is.

[Gray Mule]

:help wanted3:

Garrett Siler? Yep. Coulda used him last night.

Not good enough? Not experienced enough? What ever the reason for not having him on the roster

seems pretty bad right now. He certainly wouldn't have been any worse than some of the best the

Hawks had to throw out there last night.

And, one excuse we will not hear about Garrett Siler. He ain't big enough. Nope. That one won't do.

Would he have made a difference last night? We now know that he would have made at least as much

difference in the second half as any Hawk we had on the floor. They were all in the 100% Sleepwalk mode.

Sour grapes from the old man because we didn't keep him? You bet!!

Gotta vent about something.

:no-no:

[GameTime]

read this article and still tell me you think Collins should be getting minutes on an NBA play off team.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=3315

Wow thanks for that. Didn't know his D fell off that bad.

[buckeye242424]

Al Horford is an emotional leader and talks a good game, and I would prefer him over Marvin Williams any day. However, we are slowly learning that Horford has LIMITATIONS offensively and defensively. Dwight Howard's presence at 6'10/ 265 or against a Lakers' frontline of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gosol or Cleveland's Big Z or Boston's Kendrick Perkins/Glen Big Baby Davis is a big problem.

Al Horford is no Carlos Boozer.

Al Horford is no Amare Stoudamire.

Al Horford is no Tim Duncan.

Al Horford is no Lamarcus Aldridge.

Horford, at times, is a liability at both the power forward and center position.

Horford is a quick, athletic, emotional player, but rarely able to use it to his advantage offensively. Horford, at times, gets man-handled and needs HELP like he did against Orlando.

Horford's TWO-POINT PERFORMANCE AT HOME against the Magic is embarrassing, but he has done this before against bigger, better competition.

Unfortunately, Al will never be an ALL-STAR player. So what can the Hawks do about it?

I am not advocating Big Al be benched, but we need to see what Jason Collins can do with 15 to 18 minutes a game.

Al should be seen a situational player. TWO POINTS in one of the most important games of the year should give all Hawks' fans pause. Yes, he is young, but that shouldn't be an excuse. Dwight Howard is YOUNG. Amare is only 26. Aldridge is only 24.

I agree that 2 points is inexcusable. He needs to produce more. But how? It would have to be on offensive rebounds, at least last night. I'm not huge on stats...perfect example is our lofty ranking offensively. We have to have the worst half court offense in the league. Those numbers are skewed because we have athletes that can run and rebound.

Al Horford can't match up with Dwight Howard. Heck, not many can...especially playing him out of position. Could have he played better, sure, the whole team could have and should have. Orlando is a match up nightmare for us. Our personnel just isn't up to par with Orlando. Our two most embarrassing losses, in my eyes this year were the pre-season loss, and last night's loss, both to Orlando. More so than Charlotte, more so than the Lakers. We lose by 40 in the pre-season, then get embarrassed on our home floor for our first home loss. It's match-ups, nobody being able to check Dwight, and the fact they slow us down and defend our iso offense. It's all a recipe for disaster and it's showing.

[Sothron]

What we saw last night again is that when Horford has a wide open 16-19 foot jump shot at the key or high post he never shoots it. And he's left WIDE open as a result. I've seen him hit those shots before but he never, ever looks for a shot there. If we could pull a guy like Howard away from teh basket to respect that shot it would open up the lanes. We need Horford to take that shot.

[spotatl]

The problem with Horford on offense isn't that he can't do anything against Howard. its that he can't do anything against guys like Rasho Nesterovic. He simply doesn't have the ability to exploit a slow defender except in transition. I really don't see how people think Horford is being misused in the halfcourt when he hasn't given anyone any reason to think he could be an asset otherwise.

[hawks21]

The problem with Horford on offense isn't that he can't do anything against Howard. its that he can't do anything against guys like Rasho Nesterovic. He simply doesn't have the ability to exploit a slow defender except in transition. I really don't see how people think Horford is being misused in the halfcourt when he hasn't given anyone any reason to think he could be an asset otherwise.

Excellent point. Big Al is a limited player offensively, and it is not likely he will get better. Michael Beasley came into the NBA with an polished offensive skillset who is capable of hitting the three, so did LaMarcus Aldridge. Al is getting starter's minutes, but how long can the Hawks give Al these types of minutes and having spotty production. Players like Shaq or Greg Oden or Dwight Howard with their SIZE can overpower folks, but Al at 6'9 and 235 isn't capable of dominating like that. Al struggles against players such as Pau Gasol, Big Baby Davis or Big Z and I recall one of the Lopez twins who plays New Jersey gave him a difficult time last year.

[Sothron]

Excellent point. Big Al is a limited player offensively, and it is not likely he will get better. Michael Beasley came into the NBA with an polished offensive skillset who is capable of hitting the three, so did LaMarcus Aldridge. Al is getting starter's minutes, but how long can the Hawks give Al these types of minutes and having spotty production. Players like Shaq or Greg Oden or Dwight Howard with their SIZE can overpower folks, but Al at 6'9 and 235 isn't capable of dominating like that. Al struggles against players such as Pau Gasol, Big Baby Davis or Big Z and I recall one of the Lopez twins who plays New Jersey gave him a difficult time last year.

Al is 6'10" and 246 pounds actually. He does not get many chances in our offense which I blame on the coach. I do fault him for not ever shooting that top of the key or high post jumper that is wide open every time to him though.

[hawks21]

What we saw last night again is that when Horford has a wide open 16-19 foot jump shot at the key or high post he never shoots it. And he's left WIDE open as a result. I've seen him hit those shots before but he never, ever looks for a shot there. If we could pull a guy like Howard away from teh basket to respect that shot it would open up the lanes. We need Horford to take that shot.

Horford has had many summers to get more comfortable in shooing short jumpers and apparently he has hit a ceiling. In an actual game against most teams, he is AFRAID TO HIT 15 foot JUMPERS and use his athleticism to his advantage. This makes Horford EVEN MORE EASIER TO DEFEND. Dwight Howard, usually foul-prone didn't have to worry about any of the Hawks challenging him. Horford's lack of confidence and ability to score in the post in a half-court setting HURT THE HAWKS. Having Jeff Teague out there plays to Horford's strenghs of running the floor in transition. Bibby generally walks the ball up and did that last night vs. Orlando and Horford attempted THREE SHOTS.

Marvin is more capable of hitting open jumpers, but he is constantly left open to hit threes and he rarely shoots it. When the lane is open for Marvin to attack the basket, Marvin generally gets stripped or called for an offensive foul. Marvin has opportunities, but he can't produce consistently on most nights and he limits himself and become more tentative. This makes Marvin EVEN MORE EASIER TO DEFEND.

Josh Smith has been told to refrain from shooting outside jumpers and he consistenly resists the urge to take bad shots. The coaching staff wants him to be a traditional frontcourt player and develop a low-post game similar to David West or a Carlos Boozer, but Josh doesn't feel comfortable doing that. This makes Josh EVEN MORE EASIER TO DEFEND.

When these guys are on the floor TOGETHER, it can be a perfect storm for disaster in regard to the Hawks offensively --especially when they try to excuete their half-court offense.

The Hawks need a Amare Stoudamire-type of player who gives the Hawks more verstaility in the frontcourt.