SneakerKing33 wrote:was a big time leader on a weak playoff team...and came into a mans league and averaged a double double...thats preety damn impressive
Cool, as much as I love Al - I'd say he was the third best player on the team last season, I think people go a little overboard on what he did last season. He wasn't as good of a rookie as Okafor, Ilgauskus, or Joe Smith. Certainly not on the Elton Brand level (EB was dropping 20-10 from day 1 plus anchoring the D). Al Horford had a great season as a rookie though, especially rebounding, he also works hard on D and has a good physical package for post defense so I expect him to be good at that. The problem is people predicting 20ppg. That is hard for a big man to do and Al didn't have the sort of production, even from a rookie, that you expect a 20ppg player to have. I just hope people temper their expectations and view things realistically.
The whole, "If Josh Smith leaves, we can build around Acie and Al" movement is flawed because we don't actually know what either will bring and if you look at players who produces similarly to them at the same age, there is nothing definitively "star" about either.