Sekou's Blog: Al Horford

[mrhonline]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/03/05/list...he-young-fella/

Click over to his new blog. This one is well worth your time to read.

[mrhonline]

You probably didn’t see when Horford gathered his teammates near midcourt last night in the second half, when they were on the brink of being run off the floor at Madison Square Garden by the Knicks, and finally said what needed to be said.

He implored them to stop shooting jumpers and to start attacking the rim so they could finish a comeback that started moments earlier with a Josh Smith 3-pointer and then another big basket from Mike Bibby (I know they didn’t listen in the end, but at least the kid said it out loud).

And I know you didn’t see when Horford’s subtle move when Smith was in the midst of being yanked in and out of the game with flu symptoms (in his defense, he really was sick and had to be attended to by a doctor after the game, but I also think Hawks coach Mike Woodson had grown sick of watching Smith fail to block out and keep his man off the glass one too many times) and was sitting two seats away from a timeout huddle, it was Horford that looked over and motioned for him to join the rest of the team.

As Smith moved closer Horford gestured again for him to [and I was reading lips] “get in here. We need you.”

Minutes later Smith drained that jumper that helped initiate the Hawks’ last-ditch comeback effort.

Do you think anyone else even lifted a finger to push Smith back into the mix the way Horford did?

Trust me, they didn’t.

[coachx]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/03/05/list...he-young-fella/

Click over to his new blog. This one is well worth your time to read.

Great read !

It good to hear Smoove played through the flu last night. Playing through a 102 degree tempeture can make one look sluggish and Smith definately looked sluggish. We know that same bug really took Bibby down.

Horford definately sees the big picture. He's a keeper fo' sure !

[mrhonline]

Sekou says that Acie and JJ had that same flu, too.

[atlien]

That was a great read. I STILL think Horford will hit 18 and 12 one day, albeit in the right situation. We need 1) a new coach and 2) a change in culture. #1 hopefully would lead to #2.

[coachx]

Sekou says that Acie and JJ had that same flu, too.

Bibby too !

[HawkItus]

Good read.

[DrReality]

That's promising and the coaches and team need to get behind him. He's been a champion and knows what it takes and it is good to know that Smoove listened to him.

[crimedog]

Bibby too !

haha, our team doctors suck

Bibby looked sluggish as hell out there

[exodus]

it is pretty friggin ridiculous that a second year player has to state the obvious because their coach can't see it.

The biggest player in a Knicks uni all night was David Lee. The Hawks should have been attacking the rim all night. Instead they jacked 3s which played right into the Knicks hands.

Horford could have had 30 last night if they didn't stop passing him the ball early in the 3rd. Smith was 7/10. Marvin was 8/12 inside the 3 pt line.

WOODY NO GOODY!!!

[HawkItus]

A little off topic.......but I don't want to needlessly create threads.....

Let's say we keep Horf at the 5 his entire career, where do you see his plateau?

And if we move him to the 4 following this year, where would you put it then?

[Duff_Man]

Horford is probably my favorite player. I love when he brings the ball up the court and when he becomes the cheerleader out there. He was right, they should have kept going inside. I like it.

As far as Smith goes...glad Al hasn't shunned him totally. Early in the game, Smith fell to the floor. No Hawk rushed to help him up. I thought that was a bad sign. Like they don't like him all that much. Even my basketball illiterate female roomate said "why didn't anyone help him up?" Was weird.

Anyway, I think Bibby and Al are the guys who need to be vocal.

[exodus]

A little off topic.......but I don't want to needlessly create threads.....

Let's say we keep Horf at the 5 his entire career, where do you see his plateau?

And if we move him to the 4 following this year, where would you put it then?

Offensively i don't think it matters much where he plays. I have hope that he can be a 15/10 player. While that may sound like underselling Horford to some here there really aren't that many guys who are producing at that level.

My frustration with Horford so far is the way he plays on offense. I wonder sometimes what the Hawks coaches actually do because Horford seems like a coachable guy and his problems on offense are so obvious.

First of all he shouldn't be passing up so many midrange shots. he is making them at virtually the same rate as guys like Duncan and Amare but they take far more of them than he does. Once he has a reputation for hitting them guys will have to go out and guard him which opens up so many opportunities not only for Horford to get to the basket but also the other players.

he is quicker than almost everyone who guards him yet he rarely tries to beat guys off the dribble. Way too often he tries to back guys down who are bigger than him. When he gets inside he hardly ever throws up a shot fake. That makes his shots so easy to defend.

This will sound arrogant but if i could coach him i know his scoring would improve a lot. he has the tools he just isn't using them.

[TruJerz]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/03/05/list...he-young-fella/

Click over to his new blog. This one is well worth your time to read.

very good read. i agree with Horford being very important to this team. its funny because when he went down with the injury, people were saying that losing with him not being here isnt a good excuse as if he wasnt much of a difference maker. I was like WTF?? he is our vocal leader as well as Bibby..JJ is who is is..he will make big plays but he wont say much

[tonegully]

Thats because HORF is a WINNER!!!! He plays with emotion every game. I wish HORF was 35 and was the dam coach instead of Woody.

[bumpyphish1]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/03/05/list...he-young-fella/

Click over to his new blog. This one is well worth your time to read.

that was an unbelievable article. Sekou seems to get it. What he left out was: What does that say about the rest of our team? From Woody (obvious) to Joe to Bibby etc....

It's amazing that these guys we are paying millions cannot be counted on to communicate out there and work together.

[Diesel]

A little off topic.......but I don't want to needlessly create threads.....

Let's say we keep Horf at the 5 his entire career, where do you see his plateau?

And if we move him to the 4 following this year, where would you put it then?

Really depends on his coach and who's beside him.

If we keep the 4-5 combo of Smoove and Horf.. under Woody, Horf is probably very close to his plateau. The reason is that Woody will do nothing to improve Horf's offense. Woody believes that Horf is there to "do the dirty work". However, in most every dimension of Horf's game, he's very similar to Karl Malone. I don't think he could be Malone because Malone could drive a lot better but with work, he could be a 20/10 player at the PF in the right system.

I would like to see him learn more about the screen and roll for now. We basically use him as a pF (High post) so there's nothing to change if we moved him to the 4. The problem with Woody's offense is that nobody is truly playing the 5 on offense. We have two 3s and a 4 on offense and somedays we have 2 4s and a 3.. but never do we have a 3, 4, and 5 offensively.

[DrReality]

Thats because HORF is a WINNER!!!! He plays with emotion every game. I wish HORF was 35 and was the dam coach instead of Woody.

Interesting idea. He'd be a hell of a coach.

[gsuteke]

We are so fortunate as Hawks fans to have landed that third pick. Al is probably the player that keeps this team together behind the scenes.

I think Woodson and Smoove need a little sit down like that had a few years back to clear the air.

Edited March 6, 2009 by gsuteke