Thursday, January 6th, 2011 at 3:58 pm  |  20 responses

Al Horford: Elite Big

It’s time to admit it.

by Shlomo Sprung / @SprungOnSports

Be honest. Go through a list of the best big men in the NBA in your head. How many players did you name before Hawks center Al Horford came up? Five? Ten?

With Joe Johnson signed to a huge deal, a lot of fans around the country may overlook a player of Horford’s caliber; though Horford could be used Al Horfordto this with Joakim Noah soaking in most of the spotlight during their days at the University of Florida. Another reason could be the other elite bigs in the NBA including Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh. As of December 30, Horford is forth among Eastern Conference Centers (fifth, as of today.—Ed.) in All-Star voting behind the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Noah despite each player playing 13 less games than Horford’s 37 this season.

In those 37 games, his nearly 17 points and 10 rebounds per game — career highs across the board — don’t do him justice. His field goal percentage, 56.6 percent, is fourth in the League and equal to Howard’s and probably better than those guys’ you named on that list before you got to Horford.

Horford is fourth in the NBA in defensive rebounds, seventh in total rebounds and is sixth in the League with 18 double-doubles. That’s more double-doubles than Stoudemire, Bosh, Kevin Garnett and even that LeBron James guy. But Horford’s value goes beyond your standard 10-category fantasy league. For all you stat heads out there, Horford’s offensive efficiency, or points produced per 100 possessions, is eighth in the NBA at 120.2 and is in the top 10 in the League in win shares.

Horford probably gets tons of love in the ATL, but he should be more relevant based on what he does for his team. Players in mid-sized markets like Danny Granger, Brandon Roy and Gerald Wallace seem to have larger reputations than Horford despite putting up less consistent numbers. Think about how much Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are talked about and praised in Los Angeles and Horford has better numbers than both of them. Put Horford in a major market and he’d be viewed as the premier player he really is. And ponder this: Horford isn’t even close to the No. 1 option with the Hawks and is only improving as a player.

Another statistic that aptly proves Horford’s value is his production on zero days rest, when most players are fatigued on the second night of a back-to-back, which is actually better than his regular averages. In 11 games on no rest this season, Horford averages 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists as he outlasts and wears down other players in the League. His top-five field goal percentage goes up as well when players like Howard and Gasol see a decline in their numbers on no rest.

As Horford’s game slowly improves and his stats climb up the NBA leader board maybe he’ll gain more recognition as a top notch big man. Perhaps the next time you’re by yourself or with your friends thinking about the best big men in the game, Al Horford will be a little bit higher up on that list.

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  • http://www.facebook.com 9steele9

    yup

  • silent choirboy

    Hawks fan here… And what people tend to forget/not realize with that FG% is, unlike Howard and Nene, etc, a good number of his shots are jumpers instead of just dunks. Displaying some REAL accuracy.

    He’s still working on becoming a true low post threat with his back to the basket. He tends to defer to that (real good) jumper a decent amount instead of trying to overpower or finesse someone in the lane. Still, that part of his game is improving every year. He is definitely one of the best bigs in the league, and to me #1 when listing who you wouldn’t trade on the Hawks team.

  • Jer-Dawg

    True. We undervalue middling underachievers in big markets. We give too much attention to flashy high flying forwards on bad teams and even occasionally praise a white guy on a bad team. Horford isn’t elite. He’s solid. I see no need to overblow his value on an average team.

  • Junkyard Dog

    I think I’m missing something here. Al Horford elite big man in the NBA? I guess this is what happens in a world where the idiots at ESPN try to convince us that Chris Bosh is a “Superstar.” You asked us for a list of big men in the NBA- Dirk, Amare, Dwight Howard, Pau, Blake Griffen, Kevin Love, Kevin Garnett, Lamarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph. Thats 9 names off the top of my head. Al Horford is a very good player maybe even an all star. But Elite? Are you insane? The guy hasn’t been past the second round of the NBA playoffs.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Elite is a very strong word.

  • http://slamonline.com/ Tzvi Twersky

    He isn’t elite. He probably is an All-Star, though. There is a difference.

  • Shlomo Sprung

    Perhaps elite was too strong a word as @loadobull eloquently stated on Twitter, but he’s among the top 10 big men in the game and deserves some more pub and respect. And @JunkyardDog, Horford has surpassed KG, has better numbers this year than Tim Duncan and is more efficient and better on both ends of the floor than Aldridge and Randolph. Just compare FG%.

  • Junkyard Dog

    If the Hawks offered the celtics or Spurs right now Al horford for KG/Duncan do either of those franchises say yes? Maybe Horford looks better in December lets see who’s left by June. Also if your going to extol the virtues of Horford you probably should mention the fact that he’s considered by many to be amongst the best defensive centers in the NBA, I think thats worth a lot more then how he plays on back to back nights.

  • http://sjfklfsl.com Jukai

    Are we talking about centers or bigs? He’s one of the best centers in the game (and that says something, since he’s playing out of position). He’s not one of the best bigs. The power forwards in the league are stacked.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/officerbarbrady what

    I’m a Hawks fan. Horford is not elite, but he is damn good. He is probably a top 5 mid range shooter in the league regardless of position and his face up moves are really good. If he gets a little better at back to the basket moves and help defense he’ll really be elite. I’d take him over Bosh’s skinny bum azz any day of the week.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/officerbarbrady what

    Also, keep sleeping if you want, but the Hawks are not an “average team”. They may only be the 3rd best team in the division, but it’s the league’s most stacked division. At worst they are 5th in the east, and it’s debatable if the Bulls are actually any better. They are on pace for 50 wins again. That’s not “average”.

  • tavoris

    I wouldn’t have any problem with putting Horford about Love, Randolph, Aldridge, Jefferson, Lopez, Boozer, Lee, and Griffin-if only because he’s far and away a better defender than any of them will ever be. At this stage, he’s probably better overall than KG and TD. That’s leaves Gasol, Howard, Dirk, Bosh, and Amare as the only bigs that are clearly better. Add Bynum if he ever gets healthy.

  • PapaBearATL

    Al Horford has hustle, a good jump shot and defends true centers very well. He is a great player, maybe even All-Star caliber, don’t know if I would call him Elite and I am a Hawks fan. I personally would love to see ATL get a true C and move Horford to PF because he isn’t a back to the basket big. Imagine: Nash at PG, Johnson at SG, Smith at SF, Horford at PF, Tyson Chandler at C.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Tavoris
    Not better overall than KG and Duncan. His offense is too raw, and he’s not in the same league as a passer or anchor defender.
    Also, Griffin is probably better than him right now just on the sheer variety of his offensive game. Aldridge, in the past month or so, has been better.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    When healthy, Joakim Noah is better than his former teammate. Not offensively, but overall. I think we got the better Florida big.

  • tavoris

    Allenp-i wouldn’t put up a fight if anyone says KG or Duncan…cuz both r my dudes. Griffin is more electrifying (and has a MUCH higher ceiling), but Horford’s stats seem to translate to winning. Wit the Clippers dominating at 2 positions, they shouldn’t be losing EVERY night out. At worst, they r a draw. I still think Horford’s better right now.
    Aldridge is playing well…but I can’t reward a month of excellent play after a career of underproduction.
    @Enigmatic-ya’ll give Noah waaaaay too much. I like him, but naaaah.

  • tavoris

    @Allenp-based on talent alone, Aldrige should be right behind Howard. Yeah, he should be better than Gasol, Duncan, and KG. The same way that ‘Sheed had every tool to be of the best PF’s in history. He appears to be putting it together now, but I gotta see it longer before he even gets an All-Star vote from me.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    tavoris, as a long time aldridge questioner, im very interested in what hes been doing recently, and if he can continue. ……… …………………. …………………….. zach randolph is bad

  • tavoris

    Tarzan-Aldridge has been playing like a man possessed the past 5 or 6 weeks. I can’t knock that, because he’s been doing everything the critics have said he needs to do.

  • tavoris

    Tarzan-in the last month, Aldridge has been giving portland 23.5 and 9.

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