Al Horford is soft

[NJHAWK]

He may have had some hollow #'s last night but he made a ton of mistakes on offense and defense. He seemed afraid to mix it up down low. Jamal Crawford hasnt shown up since game 1. The refs were horrible.

[DieHardHAWK]

[AHawks89]

I hate watching Al play in this years playoffs. It pisses me off when I watch him. He looks completely lost, he has arguably the worst hands in NBA, he is missing those shots that he nailed in reg season, he makes the most crucial fouls at the most crucial time in the game, and overall just playing like a marshmallow.

Just because he is missing his shots that he usually makes don't mean he can keep shooting. If he's missing, then drive to the damn paint!

Edited May 11, 2011 by AHawks89

[JackB1]

How is he "missing his shots"? The past 2 games he shot over 50%.

You guys are nuts. Al is the best player on this team night in and night out.

He has one or 2 off nights and you all jump on him. Totally uncalled for.

[Atlantaholic]

How is he "missing his shots"? The past 2 games he shot over 50%.

You guys are nuts. Al is the best player on this team night in and night out.

He has one or 2 off nights and you all jump on him. Totally uncalled for.

He has played like crap all playoffs long. Last game he took 13 shots and scored 12 points. He has shot over 50% only twice in 11 games. He has a per of 14.4 (lower than Smith's). I understand you have a man crush on the guy, but he is playing no where near the level we need him to.

[Rattler4life000]

What have you been watchn, or are you just blind... get over it, Al has been horrible. We have a 6-10 set shooter... wow, great.... last night again he fumble wide open passes underneath the basket, threw away passes on the break, got man handled inside and you think he's our best player, gtfo!!!!

[DocWilkins]

How is he "missing his shots"? The past 2 games he shot over 50%.

You guys are nuts. Al is the best player on this team night in and night out.

He has one or 2 off nights and you all jump on him. Totally uncalled for.

There is a lot more to the game than offensive shooting percentage. Al is getting crushed on the boards and not committing hard fouls once he is clearly beaten which leads to numerous three point plays for Chicago's big men. Al has definitely not been the best player for the Hawks night in and out in this series. That would clearly be Teague who has upped his game big time. Al has been softer than a twinkie this whole series.

[NJHAWK]

Josh Smith is going to war. Al is hiding in the bomb shelter.

[Marvin24Williams]

Edited May 11, 2011 by WhassupHawks

[JackB1]

You Josh Smith lovers are so dillusional. Josh has one nice game and you forget how bad he can be.

Al has had a decent playoffs and I'm pretty sure he's got some injury he's not speaking about. Every NBA

coach in the league would choose Al ahead of Josh and you wanna talk about soft? When was the last

time Smith boxed out for every rebound or made a hard foul on a driving player? Smith would rather

flop and try to take a charge then play tough defense. Josh avoids contact under the basket a lot more than

Horford does, so if AL is soft, then Josh is made of jelly. Al plays against 7 footers most night and Josh gets

to play against the opposing PF or SF. I would love to see Josh's numbers if he had to play Center most nights

like Al does.

Edited May 11, 2011 by JackB1

[JohnnyCASH]

i love but hes kinda playing nervous

[hawkman]

You Josh Smith lovers are so dillusional. Josh has one nice game and you forget how bad he can be.

Al has had a decent playoffs and I'm pretty sure he's got some injury he's not speaking about. Every NBA

coach in the league would choose Al ahead of Josh and you wanna talk about soft? When was the last

time Smith boxed out for every rebound or made a hard foul on a driving player? Smith would rather

flop and try to take a charge then play tough defense. Josh avoids contact under the basket a lot more than

Horford does, so if AL is soft, then Josh is made of jelly.

I'm not sure what Josh has to do with this. This isn't about Al vs Josh. I'm tired of that even being an issue on this board. But I think you're right about Al being hurt. My memory isn't that short. AL is NOT soft. This guy was as gritty as they come. He didn't need 'touches' to be effective and he didn't need to consistently hit a jumper to be effective on the offensive end. Something is wrong and Al isn't talking about it. I remember during one post game interview he had a towel covering his shoulder with an obvious ice pack or something under it. That may be nothing but I know something is seriously wrong by the look on his face and his body language on the court.

[benhillboy]

I didn't give Joe a pass when so many tried to use it as an excuse for his awful regular season, so I'm damn sure not gonna give one to Al for the postseason. He is a tough guy and takes the Rondo Approach that if you suit up to play, its a non-issue. Everyone is banged up to a degree. I don't hinge on offensive numbers much with Al seeing that the foundation of his scoring game (posting) is still missing. He was the league's best post defender last year judging by opponents' numbers, and he is simply far away from that now, and it's highly depressing. I love the guy, but definitely wouldn't defend him here if anyone sees hum as "soft" lately. And more so mentally than physically, although both go hand in hand and need to be healthy simultaneously. If either is compromised, it affects the other negatively just as much. Here's to that monster game that everyone is waiting for. One shot deal.

Edited May 11, 2011 by benhillboy

[JackB1]

I'm not sure what Josh has to do with this. This isn't about Al vs Josh. I'm tired of that even being an issue on this board. But I think you're right about Al being hurt. My memory isn't that short. AL is NOT soft. This guy was as gritty as they come. He didn't need 'touches' to be effective and he didn't need to consistently hit a jumper to be effective on the offensive end. Something is wrong and Al isn't talking about it. I remember during one post game interview he had a towel covering his shoulder with an obvious ice pack or something under it. That may be nothing but I know something is seriously wrong by the look on his face and his body language on the court.

Finally an intelligent post!

I have watched Al since the day he was drafted and there is definitely something physically bothering him the past few weeks.

[Diesel]

This is not about Al vs. Josh. This is about what makes our team better. My original statement is that we get a legit big. We have been saying this all season. I would go after either Howard or Jefferson. To get either will require:

1. Them demanding a trade.

2. Us giving up Al Horford and something else in a package.

Why?

Al is a 2 time allstar.

Al has shown less problems BBIQ wise than Smoove.

Al is signed longer.

The point is that if we get in bed with orlando. They do the deal only if they get a player that they can build around, picks, and something else. My hope is that something else does not include Teague.

However, if it is Teague, for Dwight, I would still have to consider the deal.

[plskeepbibby]

This is not about Al vs. Josh. This is about what makes our team better. My original statement is that we get a legit big. We have been saying this all season. I would go after either Howard or Jefferson. To get either will require:

1. Them demanding a trade.

2. Us giving up Al Horford and something else in a package.

Why?

Al is a 2 time allstar.

Al has shown less problems BBIQ wise than Smoove.

Al is signed longer.

The point is that if we get in bed with orlando. They do the deal only if they get a player that they can build around, picks, and something else. My hope is that something else does not include Teague.

However, if it is Teague, for Dwight, I would still have to consider the deal.

Consider the deal??? Don't you mean SIGN the deal??

[Joker]

He hasn't been soft all year outside of the playoffs. Weird thing to say.

Neither one of the series really favor him the way our personnel goes.

No, I wouldn't trade Horford for anything less than Dwight Howard. I don't understand the idea to trade Smoove for Pau Gasol. Gasol is the post version of Joe. He would be great if Joe was Rose or Kobe but Joe is Joe. Bynum for Smoove would be lateral move impact wise. Bynum really doesn't stay heathy and regardless of what LA fans say, Bynum is not a #1 option on offense and he isn't All NBA on defense. He's just a good center with good impact. Worth more than Smoove but not the major gain unless certain other things happen. I don't see LA trading Bynum for Horford or Smoove like we wouldn't trade Horford for anything less than D12.

Jefferson, stfu Diesel. Jefferson isn't what we need by any stretch unless we are getting him for Hinrich, Zaza, and picks. He's not a center either, struggle more at times than Horford at the position. This is as stupid as your Smoove for Turk thread.

I really don't see the need to trade Smith unless for it's for a lateral center like Bogut or Brook Lopez which isn't as attractive to those teams or for an upgrade. We don't have the talent to be trading impact players. We need to keep all we got unless we land a D12 or CP3.

Here's a reasonable deal that makes us a legit contender, not a just a second round fodder.

NOH-ATL

[NineOhTheRino]

Game over if insane Horford show up tonight. Maybe insane Horford brings angry Marvin back.

[00Blink]

This is not about Al vs. Josh. This is about what makes our team better. My original statement is that we get a legit big. We have been saying this all season. I would go after either Howard or Jefferson. To get either will require:

1. Them demanding a trade.

2. Us giving up Al Horford and something else in a package.

Why?

Al is a 2 time allstar.

Al has shown less problems BBIQ wise than Smoove.

Al is signed longer.

The point is that if we get in bed with orlando. They do the deal only if they get a player that they can build around, picks, and something else. My hope is that something else does not include Teague.

However, if it is Teague, for Dwight, I would still have to consider the deal.

cute!