The Unassuming, Unknown Superstar Status of Al Horford

[Guest]

A black cloud hovered over the Atlanta Hawks organization in late November. The team had only just started what has now become a 22-2 rampage, but no one could have predicted that. In fact, the Hawks knew they were good, but in hushed moments, people at all levels of the organization furrowed their brows and confessed: Al Horford is not right after recovering from a pectoral tear. We don’t know when he’ll get right, or even if he will this season, and we’re not going anywhere until he’s truly back.

 

Almost all the concerned citizens were new-regime folks who admit they had no clue how good Horford was before they arrived in Atlanta. “When you’re not around a guy, you think you know,” says Mike Budenholzer, the coach who has helped remake the Hawks as Spurs East. “But with Al, you don’t.”

 

“I appreciated him as a player, but not to the level I should have,” says Kenny Atkinson, a key Hawks assistant who worked with the Knicks until 2012. “Josh Smith and Joe Johnson overshadowed him. He is much better than I had thought.”

 

Zach Lowe on the Hawks

• Korver’s Threat: How the Atlanta Sharpshooter Frightens NBA Defenses
• Could Dennis Schröder Evolve Into Atlanta’s Answer?

Horford probably won’t represent the Hawks in the All-Star Game, but there is something like universal recognition within the team that he is their best and most important player. And now, after some worry, Horford is slowly regaining his wind and his legs after avoiding all basketball activities for almost a year. The Hawks’ defense has risen with him. Atlanta has had the league’s stingiest defense since December 1, and Horford has tightened up his rim protection during that stretch, according to SportVU data provided to Grantland.

 

When he’s healthy, Horford is a legitimate NBA superstar — a chameleon who is good at everything, great at some things, and always flying beneath the radar. He doesn’t pile up insane numbers, hog the ball, or appear in national TV commercials. He is concerned only with winning, even if the path there involves sacrificing shots to focus on passing, setting good picks, and battling 7-footers under the basket.

 

“He’s just so unselfish,” Budenholzer says. “I honestly feel fortunate to coach him.”

 

“He is our cornerstone,” says Kyle Korver. “His example — it’s what the Hawks are. Or what we’re trying to be.”

 

♦♦♦

 

Here’s a conundrum: The ball isn’t supposed to stick in Budenholzer’s pass-happy motion offense, but most star players see holding the ball as their birthright. That dissonance is what made it so interesting that Atlanta wanted to meet with Carmelo Anthony last summer — back when free agents avoided the Hawks because they were boring, and not because they might be racist, too.

 

Horford is not a typical star, but he’s still a star, accustomed to munching on a certain number of post-ups and one-on-one attacks every night.

 

“I thought there would be an adjustment period for both of us,” Budenholzer says.

 

Budenholzer loves 3-point shooting, but Horford has never jacked many triples. His only two previous NBA coaches, Mike Woodson and Larry Drew, ran ho-hum offenses that looked nothing like the liquid basketball that Budenholzer envisioned.

“There is a learning curve,” Horford says. “I didn’t have any idea about [budenholzer]. I didn’t know who he was. But I was excited. Danny Ferry was the one that hired him, and I felt Danny was making changes for the good of the team. I came into this with an open mind.”

 

Horford has blended in beautifully. Malleability might be Horford’s best NBA skill. It’s harder to construct rosters around stars who are great at some things and bad at others. A post-up big man who can’t play defense needs certain types of players around him. A pick-and-roll dunker with no shooting range can function only amid pristine spacing. Horford can grow in any environment. On offense, he’s dangerous doing anything out of the pick-and-roll — the play that greases Atlanta’s engine. If his big-man partner is a spot-up shooter — Mike Scott, Pero Antić — Horford is explosive enough to slice down the line for dunks. Hand the offense to someone else and Horford is a spot-up sniper who can stand 20 feet from the hoop and drag his guy away from the action.

 

He’s an expert screener, an underrated (what else?) NBA skill. If he senses he can bait the defense into opening itself up early, he’ll scurry up to set a pick, stop short, and slip into the paint without ever setting a proper screen:

 

Sometimes he’ll just stand 15 feet away from Jeff Teague and see how the defense reacts:

 

Horford could launch a half-dozen floaters out of the pick-and-roll every game, but he’s happy passing up a good shot to create a great one. Few big men pass on the move so well. Also, he isn’t a one-trick pony as a screen setter. He will lay a dude out, both on and off the ball, if that’s what it takes to get Korver open or create a driving lane for Teague. He’s also among the very best at disguising the direction of his pick until the very last second. He’ll rush up just to Teague’s left, convince the defense the pick is going that way, and flip the screen to the right — just when the defense has already committed the other way.

 

“Setting screens is an art,” Korver says. “There are some big guys who just aren’t good at the pick-and-roll because they don’t know how to get their point guard open, or how to get themselves open. Al can do everything. He’s not really a center. He’s a basketball player who happens to play center.”

 

Horford credits this deviousness to Mike Bibby and the late Lorenzen Wright, who played for the Hawks during Horford’s rookie season. Wright taught Horford to keep opposing defenses guessing, Horford remembers. Bibby would watch film with Horford and point out subtle ways Horford could spring him.

 

Horford says he learned to love the nonglamorous stuff at Florida, where he saw firsthand that a team filled with guys devoted to selfless play could coalesce into something larger. Playing team-first ball brought him such joy that he never wanted to play any other way.

 

Billy Donovan, Horford’s coach at Florida, says Horford had that mind-set before college. Donovan watched Horford’s AAU team lose an elimination game in Las Vegas during one recruiting summer. After the game, Donovan spotted Horford weeping alone on the bleachers. “Anybody who cares that much about winning — I want that guy on my team,” Donovan says.

 

Horford was the pulse of the team at Florida, Donovan says. All the national attention on Joakim Noah could have created resentment, but Horford didn’t care. A reporter asked Horford after the team’s second national title win, against Ohio State, if he felt any jealousy over the mob scribbling quotes from Noah. “Why would that bother me?” Horford asked, according to Donovan. “We’re both getting rings.”

 

“He kept me in check,” Noah says. “Al is a winner. The only reason he’s underappreciated is that he plays in Atlanta. Everyone in basketball circles knows he’s a top player.”

 

Horford was battling an injury before that Ohio State game, and he could sense the team’s younger big men were nervous about stepping up. He approached Donovan before tipoff and suggested the coach counsel them one last time. “You cannot put a price tag on his basketball IQ,” Donovan says, “and on how he creates chemistry.” The team nicknamed Horford “The Godfather,” because he knew what everyone was doing and thinking, and how to provide just the right quiet advice.

 

He is still “The Godfather” in Atlanta. “He’s so calming,” Budenholzer says. “I wish I could say that about myself. I draw on him during moments when I’m not poised. He’ll say something calming to me, and to the team.”

 

Veterans on the Atlanta team that Horford joined in 2008 noticed his maturity right away. “As a veteran, you see all these rookies come in with certain priorities,” says Zaza Pachulia, a member of that team. “You could see Al was different from other rookies. He just wanted to win.” Horford would often call Donovan during that rookie season and ask for tips on how he could put Josh Smith in better positions, the coach says.

 

Horford always wanted the team to hang out on road trips as a rookie, but found the NBA didn’t work that way. “I really believe it’s good to get to know your teammates off the court,” Horford says. “It was one of the reasons we were successful at Florida. I wanted that in the NBA. But everyone was like, ‘Nah, I don’t want to hang out with you.’”

 

Pachulia became Horford’s kindred dinner companion after growing up in Europe’s club system, where teams often socialized together. Horford took Pachulia’s starting spot toward the end of his rookie season, and Pachulia didn’t even care. “He deserved it,” Pachulia says.

 

It took a half-decade, but Horford has found an NBA team that dines together. Budenholzer came from San Antonio, where Gregg Popovich famously organizes road-trip dinners for the coaching staff, but Budenholzer opened those meals to the entire Hawks team. Horford is a regular. A bus will show up on the early side to pick up the first batch of players who want to return to the hotel. Horford usually sticks around until the last bus. He never commands the room, coaches say. He prefers a conversation in the corner.

 

He brings the same quiet approach to his craft. The Hawks under Budenholzer have emphasized individual skill work, and Horford takes it as seriously as the younger guys who actually need it, coaches say. “Al shows up for his time slot, and he’s already lifted and gotten a massage,” Atkinson says. “Most young guys come, and they just ate an egg sandwich. And this guy is an All-Star. To have a guy like that buying in — it makes our whole program.”

 

Atkinson was zonked out after the team returned from a recent road trip around 3 a.m. Horford texted him the next morning asking if Atkinson wanted to go do some yoga. “I was exhausted,” Atkinson says. “And it was like, ‘Holy cow. This guy wants to do yoga already?’”

 

So it’s no surprise that Horford is working his way back to peak form. He looks more confident muscling up behemoth centers, and he has been faster lately rotating to the basket as Atlanta’s last line of defense:

 

Opponents have shot just under 50 percent at the rim with Horford nearby since December 1, per SportVU data. That’s an average mark for a big man, but it’s way down from where it was earlier in the season, when Horford was laboring. The team’s rebounding, a potential weak spot, has also improved during that stretch — though Horford will always have trouble against the league’s jumpiest centers:

 

Horford is never going to be Roy Hibbert, but if he can hold the fort, the Hawks’ sound scheme might do enough for Atlanta to get through the East.

 

The Hawks shut off the transition game,1 avoid fouls, and do a decent job keeping teams away from the basket by dropping back on the pick-and-roll and forming a shell around the paint. Most teams that play that conservative style can’t force turnovers, but the Hawks are a gang of thieves.

 

Still: There will come a time in the playoffs when Horford has to outduel Noah and Pau Gasol for a rebound, body up Nene in the post, or snuff out drives from LeBron or Kyle Lowry. And even during this ridiculous streak, the Hawks are allowing the most corner 3 attempts in the league, per NBA.com.

 

“Al’s activity on defense is what we need to be really good,” Budenholzer says.

 

Horford will also be the guy Atlanta leans on in crunch time. The offense is gorgeous, but a dialed-up playoff defense will gum it up at some point. “Part of our problem last season was executing down the stretch,” Korver says. “The skill set Al has as a center — it changes everything for us. To be a good team, you have to have someone where you can say, ‘Go get us a bucket.’ It can’t be all pick-and-roll, even if you want it to be.”

 

The Hawks can always toss Horford into a pick-and-pop. That should really be the floor for any Atlanta possession — an 18-foot Horford jumper. That is where Horford separates himself from other jack-of-all-trades big men like Nene.

 

Nene is a good midrange shooter. Horford is a great one. In his best seasons, Horford has hit 50-plus percent of his long 2-point jumpers — Nowitzkian territory. He’s dangerous enough from out there that defenses will rotate a third weakside defender toward him, and the Hawks are smart about arranging the chess pieces so that that defender will be covering Korver. That’s a fun choice: Stop Horford’s roll or leave Korver open.

 

If defenses glue themselves to Korver in this situation, as J.R. Smith does on the Teague/Horford pick-and-roll below, they cede an automatic Horford jumper:

 

 

If defenses leap out at Horford in anticipation of his jumper on the pick-and-roll, he can respond by slicing down the lane. “You have guys like Andre Drummond, where you know they are going to roll,” Korver says. “And then you have guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Ryan Anderson, and they are gonna pick-and-pop. Al can do both. You can’t have just one coverage for us.”

 

Coaches around the league think playoff defenses will try to neuter Atlanta by switching more — keeping themselves out of rotation and forcing the Hawks to beat them one-on-one. That is when Atlanta could turn to Horford’s post game. He’s shooting 49 percent on post-ups, per Synergy Sports, mostly using a righty jump hook and a killer face-up game. He’s starting to get to the line again after appearing allergic to contact earlier in the season.

 

Still, it’s not the most polished post game. Horford doesn’t draw automatic double-teams, and he’s gone through weird blips of awful foul shooting over the last three seasons.

 

It’s also a tough balance to strike — staying true to the system, but still letting the big dog eat down low. “If I hold it too long, Bud will let me know about it,” Horford says.

 

“With his offensive game, we’ve come to him a bit, and he’s come to us a bit,” Budenholzer says. “I think we’ve found a happy medium.”

 

Budenholzer has also sold Horford on playing fewer minutes over shorter stretches. Horford is on the Nowitzki shift — he comes out early in the first and third quarters and returns a few minutes later to serve as the hub on bench-heavy units. “At first it was like, ‘Man, I have it going, and you’re taking me out?’” Horford says. “But I get it now. I have a lot of trust in Bud.”

Playing Horford in shorter stints frees him to play as hard as possible. Budenholzer is also trying to preserve Horford for April, May, and maybe even June.

 

The world is waiting for the Hawks to prove they can defend and score in crunch time during the hothouse of the playoffs. The early signs are good, and if Horford keeps progressing, Atlanta has a real chance to make the Finals.

 

“He hasn’t peaked yet,” Atkinson says. “I don’t know when that will be. But if it’s toward the end of the year, that would be perfect.”

 

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/al-horford-atlanta-hawks-superstar/

 

Edited January 13, 2015 by Dolfan23
Fixed formatting

[Duff_Man]

This is a beautiful article. Seeing how well the team is all getting along is refreshing. Smart, unselfish players...it's a work of art.

[DS5]

Great stuff!

[HawkItus]

Where is Hotlanta?  I mean Al is just a role player right?

[NBASupes]

@Dolfan23 

@IheartFerry

@Hotlanta1981

 

Come here. I been telling you guys for years he is better than Karl Malone. The most underrated NBA player in the history of the game. 

[IheartVolt]

@Dolfan23

@IheartFerry

@Hotlanta1981

Come here. I been telling you guys for years he is better than Karl Malone. The most underrated NBA player in the history of the game.

We been telling you for years that you are off your rocker! #ThisIsGettingInsane

[IheartVolt]

All is playing his game. I have never said All is not a very good player and glad he is getting some pub for his hard work

[NBASupes]

We been telling you for years that you are off your rocker! #ThisIsGettingInsane

Karl Malone isn't as good as Al Horford. Al Horford does so many things on offense better than Karl did. eff the numbers, watch the games. We built our offense and defense around Al Horford. Without him, it's back to chuck and run team we had last year that can be easily defeated. This team is special because of Al. Outside of Durant, Lebron and A. Davis, no one is the NBA is as good as Al overall. eff the naysayers. I been saying this for YEARS!

Edited January 13, 2015 by nbasupes40retired

[IheartVolt]

Karl Malone isn't as good as Al Horford. Al Horford does so many things on offense better than Karl did. eff the numbers, watch the games. We built our offense and defense around Al Horford. Without him, it's back to chuck and run team we had last year that can be easily defeated. This team is special because of Al. Outside of Durant, Lebron and A. Davis, no one is the NBA is as good as Al overall. eff the naysayers. I been saying this for YEARS!

1 Star post

I have to correct your mistake here too. You said Al was the 2nd coming of the Mailman , not a better all around player then Malone. With that said you are still out of your mind.

Edited January 13, 2015 by IheartFerry

[benhillboy]

Karl Malone isn't as good as Al Horford. Al Horford does so many things on offense better than Karl did. eff the numbers, watch the games. We built our offense and defense around Al Horford. Without him, it's back to chuck and run team we had last year that can be easily defeated. This team is special because of Al. Outside of Durant, Lebron and A. Davis, no one is the NBA is as good as Al overall. eff the naysayers. I been saying this for YEARS!

After giving it some thought, I can't knock any of this, and my fandom of Al is surely below yours.

Timmy, healthy Paul George and Kawhi and maybe your boy Sap(!) could make up that second tier of most versatile players with Al. The writer put it best, "do everything good, some things great" guys.

I never understood people thinking Joe was the team's leader just becuase he always lead in scoring and assists. It was always Al and Al alone from the time he stepped on the court his rookie season until Bud took over.

[Guest]

This is where Zach Lowe is a good writer, when he's not trying to decipher contracts, look into the business of the NBA, or diagram plays (even though he does some here...he's a nincompoop with the arrows in pictures...). It's an article that gives you insight into Horford's personality as well as the team dynamics of the Hawks. That is interesting, it's actual information, and it so happens that I bet this took some effort. Much better than what most of the rest of Grantland is like.

[NBASupes]

After giving it some thought, I can't knock any of this, and my fandom of Al is surely below yours.

Timmy, healthy Paul George and Kawhi and maybe your boy Sap(!) could make up that second tier of most versatile players with Al. The writer put it best, "do everything good, some things great" guys.

I never understood people thinking Joe was the team's leader just becuase he always lead in scoring and assists. It was always Al and Al alone from the time he stepped on the court his rookie season until Bud took over.

With the exception of Duncan who is one of my top 3-5 NBA players of all time, Horford is a much more versatile player than the aforementioned players. It's a disgrace you mention Sap in that list.

 

Sap is a SF/PF tweener with some SF strengths, PF strengths and SF and PF weaknesses. He's a hybrid player. He's not Horf. Not even close. Leonard is a very versatile player. One of the most versatile guards/SF I have ever seen. He's right there with Pippen in that regard. Not as talented or as athletic but might be smarter and tougher.

 

He does more great than your average run of the mill fan or fanboy like we have on here understands.

[nathan2331]

I don't think you can even attempt to have this conservation until we end up doing something in the playoffs. The Jazz were a championship caliber team with Malone, it remains to be seen if we'll have the same success. Horford may be perfect for what we're doing, but I don't think that all of a sudden makes him a better player.

[NBASupes]

I don't think you can even attempt to have this conservation until we end up doing something in the playoffs. The Jazz were a championship caliber team with Malone, it remains to be seen if we'll have the same success. Horford may be perfect for what we're doing, but I don't think that all of a sudden makes him a better player.

The Jazz weren't seen as contenders till the early 90's. Before that, they were basically us before this year.

[nathan2331]

And here you are declaring Horford is the better player before he has accomplished anything Malone has done. While I'm not sure you will ever be able to prove your point, I'm glad your finally getting evidence to at least do so.

You're easily the biggest. Horford fan on the site so it's nice to see him proving you right, but unless someone devises a way to measure how 'intangibles' improve a teams performance, I don't know what stats you could use to prove Horford is better than Malone.

Edited January 14, 2015 by nathan2331

[BigDog90]

It's great to see Al is getting some love by the media. 

[Sothron]

All this sudden love for Horford by national guys and random national fans is kinda funny. I mean, do they even watch the games? There's some players that if you watch them, actually watch them, you see what they do. And BOSS is right there as one of the best.

[Plainview1981]

Where is Hotlanta?  I mean Al is just a role player right?

 

Mo Williams scored 52 points tonight. I guess he is now an elite scorer....

Edited January 14, 2015 by Hotlanta1981

[benhillboy]

With the exception of Duncan who is one of my top 3-5 NBA players of all time, Horford is a much more versatile player than the aforementioned players. It's a disgrace you mention Sap in that list.

Sap is a SF/PF tweener with some SF strengths, PF strengths and SF and PF weaknesses. He's a hybrid player. He's not Horf. Not even close. Leonard is a very versatile player. One of the most versatile guards/SF I have ever seen. He's right there with Pippen in that regard. Not as talented or as athletic but might be smarter and tougher.

He does more great than your average run of the mill fan or fanboy like we have on here understands.

You gonna give Sap his due when its all said and done. You may have heard he's the only player in the league with his Basic 5 Stat line. You act as if being a hybrid 3/4 is a bad thing, you can't name another one in the league, let alone an AS-caliber one (don't even think Melo). I think that qualifies as having a very plentiful skill set. I wouldn't fight you till the death over it like Dol, though. You hate Sap, we get it. I'll side with the coaches who view him a matchup nightmare. Edited January 14, 2015 by benhillboy

[Plainview1981]

You gonna give Sap his due when its all said and done. You may have heard he's the only player in the league with his Basic 5 Stat line. You act as if being a hybrid 3/4 is a bad thing, you can't name another one in the league, let alone an AS-caliber one (don't even think Melo). I think that qualifies as having a very plentiful skill set.

 

A 14/6 player is better than the NBA's all time leading scorer.... lol. funny stuff.