Atlanta Hawks: 5 Early Season Takeaways

4. Al Horford Has A Three-Point Stroke

In his first eight seasons leading up to the 2015-16 campaign, Al Horford had attempted a grand total of 65 three-pointers in his career. Through the first 14 games of the season, Horford has already taken 49, rounding out to about 3.5 per game. For a player who was always known for his midrange efficiency, the journey out to three-point territory has been a welcome development for Horford’s game.

It’s not just that Horford is taking three-pointers to spread the floor, however; it’s that he’s making a good portion of them too. So far, Atlanta’s stretch-5 is converting 36.7 percent of his threes, helping open things up from all over the floor. If not for his 1-for-11 shooting from the right corner, he’d be shooting around 45 percent from deep this season.

As a team, the Hawks rank eighth in three-point percentage (35.8 percent), and they’ve got six players averaging at least 10 points per game. That kind of balanced scoring is inherent on a team like Atlanta that doesn’t have a definitive alpha dog, but Horford’s expanded range has helped open things up for his teammates.

Everyone’s been paying attention to how DeMarcus Cousins added an efficient three-point shot to his game, but this new element to Al Horford’s game has flown completely under the radar.

Next: No. 3