This isn’t necessarily the first time that the Atlanta Hawks have found themselves in the mix right at the top of the Eastern Conference at this time of year. In fact, at this time last year, Atlanta was also in third spot in the conference.
Then disaster struck and their talismanic center Al Horford went down injured and missed the rest of the season.
Now, we’re 360 days on from Horford tearing his right pectoral muscle at the Quicken Loans Arena, and finally, he looks to be close to getting back to his best. That’s big for the Hawks and it’s evidenced in their recent form.
Not only have Atlanta won twelve of their last 13 games, but in their last two they have taken down Cleveland and Houston on the road without their starting point guard Jeff Teague. The Hawks are really starting to catch the eye, and if Al Horford’s play is a barometer for the overall success of the team, they’re only going to get better.
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Much had been made over what Horford wasn’t doing quite as well within the first couple of months of the season, but that doesn’t truly show an understanding of how Atlanta plays. The Hawks are one of the most cohesive, and unselfish team units in the entire NBA, and as a result sometimes individual stats suffer.
One figure in particular that has been held up as evidence that Horford may not be the same player coming back from injury, has been his failure to get to the free-throw line at a similar rate to what he did throughout the rest of his career.
Sure, Horford’s free-throw attempts per game are at 1.2, down from his career average of 2.8, but that’s really missing the point.
First of all, Atlanta as a team are averaging more than 22 attempts from the charity stripe a night, their highest mark in five years.
Unlike previous iterations of the Hawks though, the offensive load is spread much more evenly now, and there’s significantly less cases of the team feeding the ball to Horford and just making him bang down low in the post.
In fact, for those of you who regularly watch the Hawks, you’ll realize that’s the opposite of what their philosophy is all about. Horford is a lethal mid-range shooter, and as such is used to help space the floor, and create openings for point guard penetration.
When Horford does get inside, more often that not he’s acting as distributor too, utilizing his passing skills up front with Paul Millsap.
This is what the Hawks and Horford are about though, sharing responsibility and winning as a team.
For the season, Horford is averaging 54.7 percent from the field, 38.5 from three-point range and 80 percent from the line, yet his last five games have shown him to do a little bit more of everything, as he’s once again become one of the more dominant components of Atlanta’s team.
In his last five games, the 28-year-old has averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 blocks. The Hawks are one of only two teams to rank in the top ten in both offensive and defensive efficiency, coming in seventh in both categories.
That alone is testament to the two-way value of Horford, and his teammates, but for them they’ll hope it’s still just the beginning.
For Horford, it’s still a work in progress, and at 29.8 minutes per game he’s still averaging a career-low in playing time as he re-acclimates to life in the NBA. His shooting touch is there, he’s a menace on both ends of the floor, and as always, he’s leading by example.
So, Hawks fans need worry no more as it seems they’ve finally get their franchise player back.