Horford on radio this am.

[td00]

He talked about last season and his encounter with the Celtics and how he thinks this team has what it takes to make the next step.
The guys on the radio mentioned how Al would become the face of the franchise the next few years and would like to see him more as a PF. Well, with the lineup we have, Al will see very little time at the 4. Clearly, there is nothing that shows going forward that Al will be our PF for the future.
He is very good in interviews and is very comfortable with his success here. I look for him to take on a bigger role as well and as someone else mentioned here, more plays to go through his hands.

[smabie]

Which station was he on?

[evildallas]

IMO, the only thing that would move Horford to PF is if the Hawks draft and develop a center worthy of starting. They're too hard to acquire in free agency or via trade to expect a starting caliber center coming that way. So I'd expect Al as the C for at least 2 more seasons. If he's improved his core strength he'll be much better this season.

[Hawks]

Horford said he would gladly played Center if it meant bringing Smoove back. Well Smoove has been brought back. I think there is great chemistry between Horford and Smoove. This C/Pf combo should have no problems working and will only get better the more they play together.

[td00]

Sorry, Al was on 790 this am. And I agree, Al is now being seen as our 5.

That might be the hardest position to solidify long-term.

[killbuckner]

You can solidify center by sticking a PF there and going small. PG is a much bigger problem- the Hawks have no one who projects to be even an adequate starter next season.

[tbhawksfan]

IMO, the only thing that would move Horford to PF is if the Hawks draft and develop a center worthy of starting. They're too hard to acquire in free agency or via trade to expect a starting caliber center coming that way. So I'd expect Al as the C for at least 2 more seasons. If he's improved his core strength he'll be much better this season.

You have to actually draft a couple to get one. Would'nt have been too hard to move into the second round and draft Gasol or Asik.

[tbhawksfan]

You can solidify center by sticking a PF there and going small. PG is a much bigger problem- the Hawks have no one who projects to be even an adequate starter next season.

Give Law another season and he should be ready to either start or be a very solid back up.

[killbuckner]

Acie just isn't anywhere close to being an adequate starter. He needs to significantly improve just to be an adequate backup.

[td00]

Disagree on the PG being the tougher position to fill. Teams are always including PGs in trades when they have too many. You never have too many big men.
LA valued Bynum so much they couldn't come to any deal prior to '07 even though things looked bleak. They get Gasol and get rid of a future PG plus add draft picks to the deal. People still say Gasol was a steal. Another example, BK passes on Rondo, Marcus Williams and Randy Foye for Shelden. Why? Because it is harder to fill that slot.
Big men are much harder to come by. And C is the hardest to come by because there are very few who are considered dominant. We have to use AL at the 4 because we can't come up with one.
Bogut was actually a #1 and still doesn't compare to the talents of Paul & Deron. He is a good player, but you can't pass up on that type of talent, because the potential is far and few.

[killbuckner]

I think the idea that Centers are more important than PG's went out the window with the new handchecking rules. There are plenty of starting centers in this league (on playoff teams) that are just placeholders. Its hard to work around having terrible PG's. Or at least having someone as the primary ballhandler even if they aren't considered a PG.

[NDaATL]

I don't see why everyone thinks Horford will just "all of a sudden" be a much better player if he moves to PF. He doesn't have a great offensive arsenal, it's not going to matter unless he significantly improves his post game. He can do just as well at C if he'd just take that open jumper more often. Most centers in the NBA suck anyway, it's really not a big deal.

[killbuckner]

I think he would have the ability to back PF's down where he can't do that against centers. Put it in simple terms- I think that Josh Smith would have a tough time guarding Horford where most centers in the league do not.

[NDaATL]

Acie just isn't anywhere close to being an adequate starter. He needs to significantly improve just to be an adequate backup.

His numbers and injuries last season say that he wasn't an adequate backup. But I think if given a proper chance he can at least be a formidable backup. And, he's been working relentlessly this offseason. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared ... ntime.html

[NDaATL]

I think he would have the ability to back PF's down where he can't do that against centers. Put it in simple terms- I think that Josh Smith would have a tough time guarding Horford where most centers in the league do not.

Smith is a small PF. Regardless, I don't necessarily agree with that. Being able to back someone down doesn't really help if you don't have some quick post moves, and Horford doesn't except for that small baby hook. You can't just back someone down, back someone down, and keep doing that because you'll either get a 3 second call or a guard will come down and force you to pick up your dribble. Getting better post position would be his #1 goal if going against someone like Smith. And again, that's tough because the players have to get you the ball instantly or you'll get a 3 second call for camping in the lane. But, regardless, if undersized guys like Okafor, Jefferson, Amare and Bosh (weight wise) can do well at C than Horford can also. Plus, Horford is much better defensively than all of them except Okafor.

[conleyorbust]

I think he would have the ability to back PF's down where he can't do that against centers. Put it in simple terms- I think that Josh Smith would have a tough time guarding Horford where most centers in the league do not.

To back down PFs instead of Cs, you have to have a threat at C. Thats the reason that Carlos Boozer is almost exclusively guarded by Cs and even Brand was guarded by Cs sometimes while playing next to a 7-footer with a post game. Most of the time the best post player is guarded by the best post defender.

Al can't back down Cs but he should be able to out-quick them. Smith would have a tough time guarding Al but when Al got abused by Bosh and Smith got to the line and rim against the DPOY, I think we learned that Al would have a tough time guarding Smith too.

The question is, can our team play to our strengths in the half-court? Last season, the answer was too often no.

Do you remember when Steve Nash came to PHX and turned a way more undersized frontcourt than ours into the most deadly offensive force since the 96' Bulls? We don't have Nash, or Amare for that matter, but the point is that when Nash came on board and Amare was moved to C, the Suns abused opposing centers and power forwards because they couldn't stop Matrix and STAT once they got the ball in motion. Bibby is no Nash be you KNOW he can run the PnR and you know that Al and Josh are dangerous when they get the ball in motion. Last season we didn't do that enough, this season, hopefully we will have the spacing and planning to run some of their plays. I'd love to see us get someone from D'Antoni's old staff... or even Adelman's, to come in as a "consultant" in the preseason for our offense.