Horford showed tonight he can be the man

[TheNorthCydeRises]

23 points 12 Reb 3 assists 1 steal 1 block on 11/19 shooting? Yes please, can I have some more? Let's be honest: not having Mr. Brick out there thanks to his ankle showed what the team can do without having a ball hog and a guy that is addicted to shooting long twos for no reason. I'm hoping Ferry was paying attention tonight and can find a good deal for Josh. Horford can absolutely be the centerpiece guy because he almost always only takes good shots and he isn't a ball hog or a black hole on offense that has to waste the shot clock.

LOL So is Horford the superstar the Hawks need to build around now? Horford definitely needs more touches on offense ( even more than Josh ), but he's not "the man". He played great tonight, but lets not get carried away now.

[JackB1]

I would love to see Horf play like this every night. He needs to realize we NEED his offense every night.

[EazyRoc]

Lol. Collison, Ibaka and Perkins are all 6'10 and Perkins is 270 and Collison is 255. We all know Al ain't 6'10 IN shoes.

The others are not taller or significantly bigger. You want to argue over height in shoes or out of shoes it doesn't matter. They're all within a quarter inch of each other. Al is 250 and might be more than that now. So they are not significantly bigger either. Al did tonight what we knew he could. Be effective against players his size or players who are the size of a PF.

[Guest]

The others are not taller or significantly bigger. You want to argue over height in shoes or out of shoes it doesn't matter. They're all within a quarter inch of each other. Al is 250 and might be more than that now. So they are not significantly bigger either. Al did tonight what we knew he could. Be effective against players his size or players who are the size of a PF.

OKC is bigger...my eyes tell me so....ESPN has Durant listed as 6'-9",235lbs and Ibaka as 6'-10 235lbs....Does that seem right to you.

[Sothron]

For all the people who say Horford can't do it: when he has ever been given the chance to be the man?? He's either had Joe or Josh hogging the ball and Big Al has had to settle for very high quality shots just to get any kind of production. We ran the ball through him more tonight and look at how he responded and that was against two of the best defensive big men in the entire NBA in Ibaka and Perkins for crying' out loud!I say we trade Josh for picks and build the team around Horford. See if he CAN be the man because I think he can.

[EazyRoc]

OKC is bigger...my eyes tell me so....ESPN has Durant listed as 6'-9",235lbs and Ibaka as 6'-10 235lbs....Does that seem right to you.

I get what you're saying, but no..they are not bigger. None of those guys were noticeably bigger than our guys when I went to the game last year here in Atlanta. I sat about 8 rows from the floor behind the basket.

[Kimsey]

Taking nothing away from Al but the difference from the two games was production from Morrow and Ivan, combined 7-8 = 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Drew needs to figure out the rotation that keeps KK on the bench.Teague also had a better game and Lou had a great night at the line. Al was the top option, I missed most of the game and catch it later though.

[BudBall]

Also being the "Man" entitles you can create your own shot, which Horford cannot. If he was the man you would not see him having so many open jumpshots like he did today.

[BrazilianHawk]

I would love to see Horf play like this every night. He needs to realize we NEED his offense every night.

He had 19 FGA tonight. In a standard night, he'll be lucky to have 12 because of Smith bricking all the time. Give him the ball and he WILL score.

[DrReality]

He needs to play that way every night. Be assertive. The outside in game can help him get his points

[TheFuzz]

I love Horford (he's my favorite player), but tonight's game highlighted the 3 things keeping him from being a #1 option in my eyes:1. He has trouble creating his own offense, particularly in the post against stronger players. He had a lot of trouble posting up Perkins because he lacks moves. He needs to work on an up and under.2. He's not aggressive enough sometimes. He plays with heart, but doesn't always want to put the team on his back, and I'm not sure he can.3. He hasn't gotten to the free throw line enough.I think he can be the focus of a darn nice PnR offense though, even if he doesn't improve on the above.

[niremetal]

I hate this new keyboard..so ignore my last post. I can't even edit it...

So I take it you're another early adopter of the McRosot Scarface...erm Microsoft Surface?

[Plainview1981]

23 points 12 Reb 3 assists 1 steal 1 block on 11/19 shooting? Yes please, can I have some more? Let's be honest: not having Mr. Brick out there thanks to his ankle showed what the team can do without having a ball hog and a guy that is addicted to shooting long twos for no reason. I'm hoping Ferry was paying attention tonight and can find a good deal for Josh. Horford can absolutely be the centerpiece guy because he almost always only takes good shots and he isn't a ball hog or a black hole on offense that has to waste the shot clock.

Yeah, and he got doubled up on the boards by Jeremy Lin in game 1. Let's see him play like this on a near nightly basis.

[Diesel]

I love Horford (he's my favorite player), but tonight's game highlighted the 3 things keeping him from being a #1 option in my eyes: 1. He has trouble creating his own offense, particularly in the post against stronger players. He had a lot of trouble posting up Perkins because he lacks moves. He needs to work on an up and under. 2. He's not aggressive enough sometimes. He plays with heart, but doesn't always want to put the team on his back, and I'm not sure he can. 3. He hasn't gotten to the free throw line enough. I think he can be the focus of a darn nice PnR offense though, even if he doesn't improve on the above.

This is what I believe about Horf also. Last night showed one thing. Without Josh, there's better cohesion. Josh can definitely be a momentum killer and I think he intimidates young players ala T.O. At the end of the day, he should be traded for what we can get for him. Horf could be next depending on coaching and who we get back.

[Sothron]

I love Horford (he's my favorite player), but tonight's game highlighted the 3 things keeping him from being a #1 option in my eyes: 1. He has trouble creating his own offense, particularly in the post against stronger players. He had a lot of trouble posting up Perkins because he lacks moves. He needs to work on an up and under. 2. He's not aggressive enough sometimes. He plays with heart, but doesn't always want to put the team on his back, and I'm not sure he can. 3. He hasn't gotten to the free throw line enough. I think he can be the focus of a darn nice PnR offense though, even if he doesn't improve on the above.

1. As I said in my other post: when has Al ever been given the chance to "create his own offense"? Our offense has always been since he's been here fed through Joe or Josh or even Jamaal Crawford when he was here. Al has had to settle for kickouts to the high post for his highly effective jump shot or cleaning up around the rim or the occasional fast break finish. Last night was the first time in his career the offense went mainly through him and look at how he responded. 2. He's not aggressive enough? How could he be aggressive when he has to deal with Joe or Crawford and worse of all Josh Smith taking all the shot clock and the shots? Al has always had to pick his spots just to get a shot. There's a reason the analysts and experts for years have been scolding the Hawks for not giving him the ball more because when he does shoot good things happen. 3. See my above two points. Al doesn't get fouled that often because no one usually fouls a guy putting in an offensive board or on a fastbreak or when he's taking that 18 foot jumper in the high post.

[AHF]

I love Horford (he's my favorite player), but tonight's game highlighted the 3 things keeping him from being a #1 option in my eyes: 1. He has trouble creating his own offense, particularly in the post against stronger players. He had a lot of trouble posting up Perkins because he lacks moves. He needs to work on an up and under. 2. He's not aggressive enough sometimes. He plays with heart, but doesn't always want to put the team on his back, and I'm not sure he can. 3. He hasn't gotten to the free throw line enough. I think he can be the focus of a darn nice PnR offense though, even if he doesn't improve on the above.

This is what I believe about Horf also.

Me too. Horford is a foundation type piece but isn't a #1 scorer.

[Kimsey]

Al, Josh, and Lou can all be "first options" depending on match ups. They are all co. 1s because they score in different ways. Lou shot 35% 1-6 from 3 but he made humungous shots vs. OKC during crunch time.He was the closer that game. He is very comfortable taking shots this early on, I don't know how to take that. When he gets truly comfortable, he could rub some guys the wrong way with his shot selection. But for 5 million and being a prolific free throw scorer, you can't beat it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I love Horford (he's my favorite player), but tonight's game highlighted the 3 things keeping him from being a #1 option in my eyes: 1. He has trouble creating his own offense, particularly in the post against stronger players. He had a lot of trouble posting up Perkins because he lacks moves. He needs to work on an up and under. 2. He's not aggressive enough sometimes. He plays with heart, but doesn't always want to put the team on his back, and I'm not sure he can. 3. He hasn't gotten to the free throw line enough. I think he can be the focus of a darn nice PnR offense though, even if he doesn't improve on the above.

Horford looked a whole lot like Al Jefferson last night, when he has a good game with a limited amount of FTs. It's games like last night in which I keep saying that at some point, Horford is going to start becoming extremely vocal about how he is used. If Josh continues to be a high volume low FG% shooter, and all of these guards and "shooters" get their shots, there's going to be a problem if Horford's usage isn't increasing. Josh's usage has to come down, as well as Lou's ( who shoudn't be looking to shoot everytime he touches the ball ).

[TheFuzz]

1. As I said in my other post: when has Al ever been given the chance to "create his own offense"? Our offense has always been since he's been here fed through Joe or Josh or even Jamaal Crawford when he was here. Al has had to settle for kickouts to the high post for his highly effective jump shot or cleaning up around the rim or the occasional fast break finish. Last night was the first time in his career the offense went mainly through him and look at how he responded. 2. He's not aggressive enough? How could he be aggressive when he has to deal with Joe or Crawford and worse of all Josh Smith taking all the shot clock and the shots? Al has always had to pick his spots just to get a shot. There's a reason the analysts and experts for years have been scolding the Hawks for not giving him the ball more because when he does shoot good things happen. 3. See my above two points. Al doesn't get fouled that often because no one usually fouls a guy putting in an offensive board or on a fastbreak or when he's taking that 18 foot jumper in the high post.

Maybe. He was given the ball on the block a handful of times and couldn't do much with it. We don't give him the ball on the pick n' roll nearly enough though.

[EazyRoc]

1. As I said in my other post: when has Al ever been given the chance to "create his own offense"? Our offense has always been since he's been here fed through Joe or Josh or even Jamaal Crawford when he was here. Al has had to settle for kickouts to the high post for his highly effective jump shot or cleaning up around the rim or the occasional fast break finish. Last night was the first time in his career the offense went mainly through him and look at how he responded.

2. He's not aggressive enough? How could he be aggressive when he has to deal with Joe or Crawford and worse of all Josh Smith taking all the shot clock and the shots? Al has always had to pick his spots just to get a shot. There's a reason the analysts and experts for years have been scolding the Hawks for not giving him the ball more because when he does shoot good things happen.

3. See my above two points. Al doesn't get fouled that often because no one usually fouls a guy putting in an offensive board or on a fastbreak or when he's taking that 18 foot jumper in the high post.

That made laugh, because immediately when I read that I thought of Marvin Williams. Listen, Al hasn't shown anything that should give anybody the idea he can be a goto scorer or first option. He does have arguably the best mid range shot in the league and he is a solid athlete, but he's not or he hasn't been successful throughout his career as a post up player. He's not effective as a face up guy either. He is what he is. A very solid all around player. Not great at any particular aspect, but has no glaring weaknesses either. I hope im wrong, but if he doesn't show flashes here this season of a developing offensive game, then he's probably not going to get significantly better in the future.