Al Horford Future Superstar?

[Hawkfan89]

So me and my girlfriend just had a conversation about Horford and she strongly disagrees with me about him being a good player and him having the potential to become a great player and even a superstar in the NBA. It's my opinion that Horford has the goods to lead a team and will be a force within the league especially if we can put him at his natural position of power forward. When I told her I would like him to become the Tim Duncan of Atlanta her reply was "he is not as good Duncan and never will be!" So what's your opinion of Al Horford?

[Ruckus]

Superstar? No.Valuable member of a championship team? Yes.

[NBASupes]

It's possible but not likely. System player.

With all else said, he's pretty darn good as it is and is a top 15-20 player in the NBA right now.

But he's not as good as Tim Duncan and never will be in terms of prime TD.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Leadership

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Horford is a piece to a championship puzzle, but not THE piece though... He is a consistent dub-dub guy that has a winner's never die attitude. Love Horford.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MaceCase]

Rule of thumb is if they haven't flashed it by the end of their 3rd season then it aint happening.

No matter how great the physical talent or skill, that's it.

There was even a study done about a year back by B-R or WOW or someone proving it. Guys can refine their games and become more consistent but if they haven't shown that leap by the 3rd season then it's extremely unlikely that they ever become a late blooming star. Horf is what he is, a piece you build with but not around.

[thecampster]

Not without a 3 inch/30 lb growth spurt.

[DrReality]

Duncan has had a one of a kind career.

[Nicholasp27]

By his 3rd year he made the all-nba teamHe is like Duncan in that he is not flashy enough to get people's attentionOf course, he isn't as good as the best pf of all time, but that shouldn't be the measuring stickHe's a top 20-25 player but we need another to contend...you need more than one these days and he a curry/Durant/melo type that will put team on back and score final 10 points to win the game

[KB21]

Al isn't the transcendent star that many fans think a team should be built around, but he is an upper echelon player in the NBA. He has established himself as a top 20 NBA player while playing largely out of position in his career. Statistically, he's one of the better overall centers in the NBA. I am curious to see if his numbers would improve by him moving to his natural position and being able to play alongside a true center for the majority of the game.

Around 63% of Al's offense comes on jump shots, of which he has a very respectable 48% eFG%. There are some players in the NBA who are considered stars who don't have a 48% eFG% on any shot.

From a defensive standpoint, Al has consistently been Atlanta's best overall positional defender. He doesn't miss rotations, can flash on the pick and roll, and can defend one on one when he is isolated. He's not a rim protector, so he's not a guy that is going to block a ton of shots.

The line up data over the past three years suggests that the Hawks are clearly better when Al plays power forward alongside a center, even if the center is a solid back up in Zaza Pachulia or a big stiff in Jason Collins (see what I did there). However, I'm not sure you can really look at line up data that much as it is a SSS.

[AUhawksfan]

It's hard for any post guy to be a superstar unless you have a lot of size (Shaq) or your name is Tim Duncan. Even with the numbers a guy like Kevin Love puts up, he isn't leading that team to a championship.

Horford needs another low post threat to help him out a la David Robinson did for Tim Duncan. Agreed that he is a major piece but not THE piece for a championship.

[buckeye242424]

Al is a great player. He's an all-star. He'll never been a Tim Duncan. I mean, Duncan might be the best power forward to ever play in the NBA.

[KB21]

It's hard for any post guy to be a superstar unless you have a lot of size (Shaq) or your name is Tim Duncan. Even with the numbers a guy like Kevin Love puts up, he isn't leading that team to a championship.

Horford needs another low post threat to help him out a la David Robinson did for Tim Duncan. Agreed that he is a major piece but not THE piece for a championship.

Minnesota is actually an interesting case study, IMO. They actually made some very quality moves this offseason, and they won 31 games this past year. That may not sound like much, but they did it largely without Kelvin Love who missed most of the season.

If they can keep Nikola Pekovic in free agency and get Kelvin Love and Chase Budinger healthy, they could make a run at one of the lower playoff seeds next year.

[Buzzard]

Tim Duncan, KG, and yes I am going to say it Dirk. No one else over the past 15 years comes close. They are all three better than HOF players like Kevin McHale, Charles Barkley, and Dennis Rodman.

Horford has a chance to put HOF candidate numbers provided he has the longevity. He needs help to win a championship but who on the above list did not?

Edited May 13, 2013 by Buzzard

[BrazilianHawk]

Your girlfriend is probably right. Al is a very good team player and I love his game, but Timmy (or even the Mailman) he is not.

Al is an all-star and will probably come close to a 20-10 guy the next couple years, but no way we can compare him with the greatest PFs of all time. And I'm still not sure Al should play PF at all. He's a very good C!

[AHF]

Al will never, ever be a superstar. He is an ideal guy as the third wheel on a championship team. He is almost always quite good but very rarely great. Duncan is arguably a top 10 player in NBA history and could be the foundation for a championship team with a lot of different combinations. If Al is your best player, you get the 2011-13 Hawks in the vicinity of your peak.

[Wretch]

Jumpshots will only get you so far (speaking in terms of both the player and the team). Al's offensive strength is his jumper, which is better than good. It's quite reliable, and that makes him a threat. Unless he develops a true post game though, he won't be more than a secondary threat. He'll need a guy to draw attention from him down low...and his very reliable jumper makes him the perfect compliment to that kind of player.

Another complimentary strength that he has is his ability to move without the basketball. Al does this EXTREMELY well. He hustles and he's so fast for his size. Again, having a post threat to draw attention would give Al more room to go after offensive rebounds or to move into position for an easy assist.

Not a guy you lean on for offense, but next to the right player...a phenomenal complimentary player IMO.

[KB21]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not trying to make a case for Al Horford being a superstar in the NBA.

With that said, I definitely think fans need to fundamentally change their perception of superstar players. The focus on volume statistics needs to go by the wayside. Instead, the focus needs to be on efficiency statistics.

Al has been a very efficient scorer during his time in Atlanta. Outside of his rookie season, he has never posted an eFG% less than 53%. There are two things I would like to see more out of his game though. First, I would like to see him improve that FTA/FGA ratio. The more he gets to the foul line, the more points he will score and the more efficient he will become. Not only does he need to work on a drop step move to both sides in the post, but he needs to ball fake and attack the basket when teams close out on his jumper. With just some minor tweaks to his overall game, Al Horford could become a guy that scores 21-22 PPG on around 14-15 FGA.

The other area of the game I'd like to see him improve upon is his offensive rebounding. His ORB% hovers around 8%, and I'd like to see that above 10% overall. Preferably around 12%, which would put him in the middle of the top 10 offensive rebounders in the NBA.

[JTB]

Anybody think horford can get to the hall of fame? Just asking......hmmmm never mind. He's a really great player for the hawks but he probably dont have the stats to make it to the HOF, not that that's all that matters but it will if our team stays as is.

[Alex]

He can't ever be better than the wonderful all powerful Dwight Howard. Dwight is such a great person. His attitude is wonderful and all he cares about is winning.

[NBASupes]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not trying to make a case for Al Horford being a superstar in the NBA.

With that said, I definitely think fans need to fundamentally change their perception of superstar players. The focus on volume statistics needs to go by the wayside. Instead, the focus needs to be on efficiency statistics.

Al has been a very efficient scorer during his time in Atlanta. Outside of his rookie season, he has never posted an eFG% less than 53%. There are two things I would like to see more out of his game though. First, I would like to see him improve that FTA/FGA ratio. The more he gets to the foul line, the more points he will score and the more efficient he will become. Not only does he need to work on a drop step move to both sides in the post, but he needs to ball fake and attack the basket when teams close out on his jumper. With just some minor tweaks to his overall game, Al Horford could become a guy that scores 21-22 PPG on around 14-15 FGA.

The other area of the game I'd like to see him improve upon is his offensive rebounding. His ORB% hovers around 8%, and I'd like to see that above 10% overall. Preferably around 12%, which would put him in the middle of the top 10 offensive rebounders in the NBA.

He lacks the ability to create his own shot anytime but given a PG who creates others offense could create his offense at a high level. Horford offensive production can only go up by the PG and the system. We lack that PG currently speaking.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Leadership