Josh Smith is clearly "the man" on the Atlanta Hawks. But Al Horford is the essential piece to the puzzle that is the Hawks' offense.
Sure, Smith is a joy to watch with his explosiveness and ability to guard any position. But there is a reason Smith has been snubbed from the All-Star Game for eight consecutive seasons.
While a fan favorite that grew up in Atlanta, Smith can be a pain with his immature attitude. He even sat out for the Nets game on Jan. 16 due to a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
Coaches, who choose All-Star reserves, do not normally vote for a guy with that kind of behavior.
Horford, on the other hand, deserves to be an All-Star for the third time. He is a defensive-minded big who is a versatile force on offense.
What is most impressive about Horford is that he has played out of position since joining the league. He plays the 5 but is obviously a power forward.
He has a nice stat sheet with 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assist per game, as of Jan. 18.
It's not all about the numbers, though.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Amber North
Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford Deserves to Be in the NBA All-Star Game
January 19th, 2013 by Amber North Leave a reply »
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