It wasn’t a forgone conclusion that the Atlanta Hawks would jump from the eighth seed in the horrible East to the owners of the conference for several months just a season later. Players like DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Teague, and Dennis Schroder took important leaps, and another year of roster and coaching continuity is conducive to success.
However, is it a simple correlation that the loss of Al Horford to a pectoral tear derailed a good start in 2013-14, and that his rebirth was tied to the Hawks going on an excellent stretch of basketball this past season? It’s unlikely. Horford is, and has been for a few years now, the Hawks’ most important player.
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His personality is one of the aspects that makes him such a significant part of the franchise. Horford is a locker room leader, a consummate professional, and a high-IQ player. Hawks guard Kyle Korver described him to Grantland‘s Zach Lowe as “what the Hawks are.”
Of course, being a good personality really does only get one so far in basketball. There are really good teammates and people who serve as team’s benchwarmers. Horford backs up being a great teammate with actually being able to do stuff on the court. In fact, it’s hard to argue that Al Horford is not a star.
The reason for this is simple: Horford is ridiculously versatile. Sports illustrated, who ranked Horford as the 21st best player in the NBA, summed up his value in this one sentence.
"“..ask Horford to spread the floor, defend in space, post up, hit the glass, set screens, facilitate offense, wall off the rim, work the baseline, or run the floor and you’ll get the same blanket capability.”"
There is no roster, no lineup, no system in professional basketball that wouldn’t do well with Horford. He quietly does whatever is needed to help his team win, and it is a challenge to give him a task he can’t complete reasonably well.
There’s a few things he’s exceptional at though, and probably the most unusual for a big man is his midrange game. Horford shot 48.4 percent from midrange on 426 attempts, an efficiency figure few players can match. His shooting makes him one of the better pick-and-pop bigs in the league despite the fact that he doesn’t shoot threes.
Horford’s combination of shooting ability and intelligence makes his long twos a feature of Atlanta’s offense. In this clip, even though he just gave up the ball, he takes a couple of steps to maximize his space in case Brook Lopez helps off him. When Lopez shifts his focus, Horford has the green light.
Despite the fact that he isn’t a monster athlete or a polished post player, Horford can also score inside. He’s a solid roll man who can dunk, hit a floater, or pass out of the paint.
A screen from Horford just basically cracks the egg for Atlanta’s offense. Just the fact that he’s close to the ball-handler triggers defensive movement, and from there, Atlanta can move the ball until it finds the best shot. Horford doesn’t even set screens sometimes. He just pretends like he might.
As much as Horford’s versatility is a major asset to coach Mike Budenholzer, Horford’s talents are maximized by the fact that he is an excellent coach. The floor is arranged so that Kyle Korver’s man has to help on a Horford roll or smother Korver. In that scenario, there is no winning.
Horford’s basketball I.Q. also makes the most efficient use of his skill set. He knows when to screen hard and when to fake, when to stay back and when to roll, and when to go through defenders and when to pass it out. It is calculated, both by him and the Hawks coaches, which of those things he uses when.
Horford’s versatility extends to the defensive end. He’s an average rim protector, allowing opponents to shoot 49.8 percent at the rim. He’s also a decent perimeter defender for a big. He’s long enough and quick enough to at least contest shots when a guy is left open on a pick-and-pop.
If there’s a shortcoming to Horford’s game, it’s that he’s not quite big enough to match other elite bigs in the paint or on the glass. This problem was compounded when Horford was weakened in recovery from his pectoral tear. He can’t easily tangle with DeAndre Jordan or DeMarcus Cousins down low.
The truth of the matter is that Horford is a more effective power forward than center. It’s better for him to defend the modern stretch bigs than to try to body up classic big men in the paint. The fact that Tiago Splitter is now on the Hawks should make Atlanta less reliant on Horford to do that kind of work.
In fact, Horford might be more important in defending the perimeter, because without DeMarre Carroll the Hawks will need everyone else to step up a little to defend opposing stars. A healthy Horford isn’t the best option to defend LeBron James, but the Hawks have created a system that uses every bit of defensive talent their players have in them.
Horford is a great fit for the Hawks, and the Hawks know how to use him in all the different ways he can be used. He can score inside and out, moves the ball, and can competently handle and defensive assignment given to him. The Eastern Conference has improved. Meanwhile, Atlanta has taken a small step back.
A healthy, prepared Al Horford will go a long way in making sure the Hawks don’t fall behind.
*stats courtesy of NBA.com
Next: NBA: Complete Offseason Grades For All 30 Teams
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