Horford Speaks Out

[JackB1]

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2010/05/08/hawks-quit-on-season-and-joe-doesnt-care-what-you-think/

Al Horford, the best hope this franchise has for a leader, openly questioned his teammates’ heart.

“Effort. Effort — that’s all it is,” he said. “Guys can say all they want about coverages and all this. But it came down to effort — [not] going for loose balls early in the game, missing rebounds when they missed shots.”

And then: “It’s frustrating. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to go out there and point people out. I’ll let them know. But you’re not going to see me cursing somebody out. They know what they have to do, and it’s frustrating when the effort is not there.”

[Swatguy]

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2010/05/08/hawks-quit-on-season-and-joe-doesnt-care-what-you-think/

Al Horford, the best hope this franchise has for a leader, openly questioned his teammates’ heart.

“Effort. Effort — that’s all it is,” he said. “Guys can say all they want about coverages and all this. But it came down to effort — [not] going for loose balls early in the game, missing rebounds when they missed shots.”

And then: “It’s frustrating. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to go out there and point people out. I’ll let them know. But you’re not going to see me cursing somebody out. They know what they have to do, and it’s frustrating when the effort is not there.”

I suspect some furniture movement was afoot in the Hawks locker after the game.

[coachx]

Got to love Al Horford !

Wish they made more guys like him.

[NineOhTheRino]

WTH is he talking about? Where was his effort when guys were coasting past him for layups? I so sick of his Mr Too-Goody act bs. Keep Joe and send this fake Grant Hill wannabe back to Florida!

Edited May 9, 2010 by NineOhTheRino

[plskeepbibby]

WTH is he talking about? Where was his effort when guys were coasting past him for layups? I so sick of his Mr Too-Goody act bs. Keep Joe and send this fake Grant Hill wannabe back to Florida!

Disagree totally we should ship the other 12 out of town

[niremetal]

WTH is he talking about? Where was his effort when guys were coasting past him for layups? I so sick of his Mr Too-Goody act bs. Keep Joe and send this fake Grant Hill wannabe back to Florida!

Bit too harsh, but Al's effort in a number of our playoff games this year (tonight certainly included) has been less than perfect. Maybe he's just discouraged because his teammates quit "first," but he definitely was half-assing it (or at most 3/4-assing it) on defense for most of tonight.

[NineOhTheRino]

Bit too harsh, but Al's effort in a number of our playoff games this year (tonight certainly included) has been less than perfect. Maybe he's just discouraged because his teammates quit "first," but he definitely was half-assing it (or at most 3/4-assing it) on defense for most of tonight.

I really hate Al's holier-than-thou attitude. Is it a Florida thing???

[Endy9]

I really hate Al's holier-than-thou attitude. Is it a Florida thing???

So you don't like the guy who says, we just have to man up and play hard. You prefer the guy who says, you fans lost us this game. ??

[NineOhTheRino]

So you don't like the guy who says, we just have to man up and play hard. You prefer the guy who says, you fans lost us this game. ??

you make a good point buddy

+1

[niremetal]

So you don't like the guy who says, we just have to man up and play hard. You prefer the guy who says, you fans lost us this game. ??

Come on. That's not even remotely in the same vicinity of what JJ said.

[plskeepbibby]

Come on. That's not even remotely in the same vicinity of what JJ said.

Joe said "we dont care if the fans show up" there is no way to take that lightly. he deserves all the boos he will get on Monday, go defend this jerk on Knickssquawk next season. His is an a**hole and that is it. The fans should have been the last thing on his damn mind after the *ss beating he took tonight.

[Endy9]

Joe said "we dont care if the fans show up" there is no way to take that lightly. he deserves all the boos he will get on Monday, go defend this jerk on Knickssquawk next season. His is an a**hole and that is it. The fans should have been the last thing on his damn mind after the *ss beating he took tonight.

I guess I compare it to Nique after losing game 7 to Boston. He scored 47 pts and instead of pointing the finger at anyone he said something like "Bird is incredible, making shots with his left hand. I'm going to work on making left handed shots in the offseason." Always looking for way to improve himself. Not blame others.

[niremetal]

Joe said "we dont care if the fans show up" there is no way to take that lightly. he deserves all the boos he will get on Monday, go defend this jerk on Knickssquawk next season. His is an a**hole and that is it. The fans should have been the last thing on his damn mind after the *ss beating he took tonight.

He did it in response to a question on what his reaction was to the fans booing. It wasn't out of the blue.

I guess I compare it to Nique after losing game 7 to Boston. He scored 47 pts and instead of pointing the finger at anyone he said something like "Bird is incredible, making shots with his left hand. I'm going to work on making left handed shots in the offseason." Always looking for way to improve himself. Not blame others.

I'm not defending JJ. His play tonight was embarrassing and his comments after the game were idiotic. But JJ didn't blame the fans. On the contrary, he said what the fans say/do does not affect what happens on the floor. He didn't blame anyone else - which was the one saving grace of his comments, considering that he has pointed the finger in the past.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve criticism. I'm just trying to get you to not be disingenuous about what he actually said. I've done similar things with Smoove, Horford, and Marvin in the past week - I try to get people to not blow stuff out of proportion. JJ's comments were bad enough. No need to make them sound even worse than they were.

Edited May 9, 2010 by niremetal

[AUhawksfan]

Horford is one of the lone bright spots on this team. If he was half-assing it then Josh and Joe were full on assing it!

I understand his position though, not being captain though I think he should be over our so called "leader."

[TheNorthCydeRises]

He did it in response to a question on what his reaction was to the fans booing. It wasn't out of the blue.

I'm not defending JJ. His play tonight was embarrassing and his comments after the game were idiotic. But JJ didn't blame the fans. On the contrary, he said what the fans say/do does not affect what happens on the floor. He didn't blame anyone else - which was the one saving grace of his comments, considering that he has pointed the finger in the past.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve criticism. I'm just trying to get you to not be disingenuous about what he actually said. I've done similar things with Smoove, Horford, and Marvin in the past week - I try to get people to not blow stuff out of proportion. JJ's comments were bad enough. No need to make them sound even worse than they were.

They don't want to see this point of view. A lot of people simply wanted a real reason to really dislike JJ. Unfortunately, JJ's stupid comment, combined with his pizz poor effort these last 2 weeks, has given them all the reasons they needed to dislike the dude. He's been villified all year because he turned down that extension. This just completes the cycle of hate toward him in their minds.

KG did the same thing up in Boston toward the end of the season, when the Celtics got booed off the court after the Wizards beat the hell out of them. In that case though, KG said it to their faces as he was going to the locker room. I believe the C's either suspended him for one game, or Doc decided to give him a DNP the next game.

If Woody or the ASG did that, it may satisfy the fans a little, but it would completely destroy any chance of JJ returning here, even at a reduced price. And he'd wouldn't even agree to a sign and trade to help us get something out of his departure.