Horford to return for last regular season game.

[AHawks89]

Al Horford changes mind telling Yahoo! he will return to action in limited fashion 4/26 vs DAL after doc meeting. The Hawks forward-center told Y! Sports in the morning he didn't expect to return from the postseason due to pectoral injury suffered earlier this season. But doctor told him some pectoral weakness is normal and not to be fearful of it, which led Horford to changing his mind and becoming more confident for return. He will play about 15 minutes per game in 1st round.

Michael Cunningham ‏ @ajchawks

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Check back in 5 min. MT @SpearsNBAYahoo: Horford changes mind again says he will return to action 4/26 vs DAL

Edited April 23, 2012 by AHawks89

[AHawks89]

Ryan Cameron ‏ @therealrc

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“ Al Horford changes mind ! he will return to action in limited (cont)http://tl.gd/h47fi7”the boss is back! #GoHawks

[AHawks89]

Glad to see him get some a few minutes in before playoffs. Good to hear that the pain won't harm anything. Let's be a bit careful!

[hawkrule152]

im not too worried about him re-injuring it.. if he does he has a full offseason to recover! GET BIG AL!

[Admin]

Fear the possum!

[NineOhTheRino]

I don't get why this is a big deal. The Hawks are playing well without him. Him being healthy is good news on a personal level but it's less than a non-issue basketball wise.My fear is adding Horford so late in the game will kill team chemistry. The funny thing is I think Al is being asked by LD or management to do this. Whenever I've heard Al talk he made it seem as if he didn't want to risk re-injury. The whole damn thing is all-around dumb!Just hope it's not a ploy by ASG to move playoff tickets.

Edited April 24, 2012 by NineOhTheRino

[BrazilianHawk]

I'll believe it when I see it. We badly need Horf, right now we have no available centers whatsoever (Collins doesn't count!).GO HAWKS!!!

[High5]

I don't get why this is a big deal. The Hawks are playing well without him. Him being healthy is good news on a personal level but it's less than a non-issue basketball wise.My fear is adding Horford so late in the game will kill team chemistry. The funny thing is I think Al is being asked by LD or management to do this. Whenever I've heard Al talk he made it seem as if he didn't want to risk re-injury. The whole damn thing is all-around dumb!Just hope it's not a ploy by ASG to move playoff tickets.

An All Star center returning to a lineup that has one healthy center in Jason Collins is less than a non-issue? That makes sense. Granted Horford won't play like an All Star coming off of the injury, but if he's able to give us anything it'll definitely help.

[NineOhTheRino]

An All Star center returning to a lineup that has one healthy center in Jason Collins is less than a non-issue? That makes sense. Granted Horford won't play like an All Star coming off of the injury, but if he's able to give us anything it'll definitely help.

I thought the Zaza injury was no big deal. At least that's what people around here are saying. If Zaza and JC are okay to play then yes it's an non-issue, but if your right about having one healthy center then I'll stand down and cosign with you.

[Admin]

I thought the Zaza injury was no big deal. At least that's what people around here are saying. If Zaza and JC are okay to play then yes it's an non-issue, but if your right about having one healthy center then I'll stand down and cosign with you.

No it's not a non-issue, unless you believe that JC is going to make even the tiniest bit of difference against the Celtics, which he won't. Horford at 75% playing 15 minutes backing up Zaza is FAR better than either JC or Damp getting those minutes. If we were playing the Magic then I'd say let's go ahead and rest Horford a little longer but since we're playing the Celtics there's no need for JC to play at all since he's such a poor rebounder for a big.

[macdaddy]

I don't get why this is a big deal. The Hawks are playing well without him. Him being healthy is good news on a personal level but it's less than a non-issue basketball wise.My fear is adding Horford so late in the game will kill team chemistry. The funny thing is I think Al is being asked by LD or management to do this. Whenever I've heard Al talk he made it seem as if he didn't want to risk re-injury. The whole damn thing is all-around dumb!Just hope it's not a ploy by ASG to move playoff tickets.

If zaza was healthy it wouldn't be as big but we really have no nba centers on the whole roster. I think it will be an emotional lift for the team and the good part is Al will mainly be focused on rebounding so i don't think it will disrupt chemistry. I don't expect a lot of plays run for him because his shot is going to be way off.

[Mutombolievable]

YESSSS!!!That is all.

[Dragitoff]

The question now comes as this......minutes distribution for playoffs assuming we stay with the same starting lineup we've been using (and honestly why wouldn't we?)You've essentially got alot of guys playing well right now in their roles. I say guys like Collins, Vlad, Stackhouse, and Dampier never see the floor unless of foul trouble or something like that, but that still leaves Teague, Hinrch, Johnson, Smith, Pachulia, Horford, Pargo, Marvin, Ivan, Willie, TMac, and Pargo all competing for time. It's a good problem to have, but something to consider. PG-Teague, Hinrich, PargoSG-Hinrich, Johnson, GreenSF-Johnson, Williams, McGradyPF-Smith, Johnson, HorfordC-Pachulia, Horford, Johnson

[Supporter]

I just really really hope that he doesn't cause future damage to his body by doing this. That would really suck.

[Guest]

All I want Al to do is focus on defense and rebounding in his limited minutes, be the blue collar dude you were when we faced the Celts back in 2008.

[coachx]

I thought the Zaza injury was no big deal. At least that's what people around here are saying. If Zaza and JC are okay to play then yes it's an non-issue, but if your right about having one healthy center then I'll stand down and cosign with you.

Having ZaZa and Collins as your 2 best centers is a non-issue ?Are you drunk of your azz ?

[coachx]

All I want Al to do is focus on defense and rebounding in his limited minutes, be the blue collar dude you were when we faced the Celts back in 2008.

Totally agree.It may frustrate him to have to change his game but his mid-range shot will be effected due to the chest injury.Having a center who can actually protect the rim on defense and finish at the rim offensively will be a welcomed addition. Those are simply 2 of the things you need out of the center position but are also 2 things that ZaZa and Collins are physically unable to do. Edited April 24, 2012 by coachx

[NineOhTheRino]

Having ZaZa and Collins as your 2 best centers is a non-issue ?Are you drunk of your azz ?

Zaza and Collins were good enough to get the Hawks this far. You really think adding a jump shooting "center" coming off injury will do much better? Maybe it's just me but I don't think the potential reward is worth the risk.

[niremetal]

I don't get why this is a big deal. The Hawks are playing well without him. Him being healthy is good news on a personal level but it's less than a non-issue basketball wise.My fear is adding Horford so late in the game will kill team chemistry. The funny thing is I think Al is being asked by LD or management to do this. Whenever I've heard Al talk he made it seem as if he didn't want to risk re-injury. The whole damn thing is all-around dumb!Just hope it's not a ploy by ASG to move playoff tickets.

It's really sad that your Joshgasms have gotten so intense that you deride the return of an All-Star center as "less than a non-issue."

[hawkman]

All I want Al to do is focus on defense and rebounding in his limited minutes, be the blue collar dude you were when we faced the Celts back in 2008.

+1000. If this is what it takes to get the 'old' Horf back, so be it. The mid-range J was nice and all, but he kinda lost the gritty part of his game in the process. With Garnett playing center, it would be nice to have someone that could bully him on the block AND contest that jumper of his. Even a 'weakened' Horf should be able to do those things. 15 minutes a game seems a little short though, but that sounds like more smokescreen or possum talk.