Hoopinion: Al Horford An Afterthought In Another Fourth Quarter

[Hawksquawk]

From his game recap at Peachtree Hoops, Jason Walker on Al Horford:

Al Horford isn't perfect, but dang, can the man be more than a freaking afterthought on this team? His number comes up less often than any starter in terms of having a play specifically called for him to get the ball despite his effectiveness. We see every single player blow through their possessions like Kleenex, yet they continue to get the plays called for them. Al doesn't seem to get that grace, and it all goes back to the franchise seeing him as a useful engine, but not the top of the franchise player that would have a gameplan built around his skills.

By the way, Coach Drew.....28 minutes, four fouls. Horford missed (12) minutes due to the foul "trouble" of getting two whole fouls in the first half, which is far more than he likely would have missed if he had fouled out late in the fourth quarter. One often meets his destiny on the path taken to avoid it. And yes, that's a Kung Fu Panda reference.

It was another Hawks loss, it was another one-shot fourth quarter from Al Horford. That makes it four of the last seven games and three of Atlanta's last four losses wherein Horford has gotten a single field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.

Perhaps, rather than adjusting the team's on-court and the franchise's off-court plans to reflect the reality of his excellence, the plan is to suppress the evidence that Horford is the team's best player.

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