One of the first compliments given to Al Horford when the Atlanta Hawks picked him third in last year's draft was that he was the most NBA ready player in the draft. In just his first season, Horford has proven to be just that with his rookie season and playoffs debut, scoring 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, and a blocked shot against the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Horford was a man amongst boys while in college, after capturing two NCAA Championships while playing for the Florida Gators. Holding his own against the likes of Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, he has been playing out of position all year but has remained consistent throughout the season.

Averaging 10.2 points per game and 9.7 rebounds in the regular season, Horford numbers don't tell the story on how he has helped the Atlanta Hawks this season. With a rookie leading 25 double-doubles, Horford is a candidate for Rookie of the Year and a true leader for his team during the playoffs.

Moreover, Mike Bibby went into the playoff game with 51 games of playoff experience and was suppose to propel his team to a higher level in this tough matchup against the Celtics. Unfortunately, Bibby played terrible, shooting 2-for-10 and only scoring five points.

Taking complete blame for his poor performance, Bibby was quoted saying, "the stat line's terrible. I didn't help my team at all. I'll take the blame for this. I don't think there'll be another game like this."

The Hawks hope Bibby keeps his word as they face the Celtics again Wednesday night and attempt to steal a game on the road before the series moves to Philips Arena Saturday April 26th for Game 3.

However, Mike Woodson and the Hawks also hope Josh Smith stays out of foul trouble and overcomes his allergies, Joe Johnson gets started offensively, and Horford continues to shine in this playoff series.

Gm. 1: BOS 104, ATL 81

Gm. 2: Wed., April 23: at Boston, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)

Gm. 3: Sat., April 26: at Atlanta, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Gm. 4: Mon., April 28: at Atlanta, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)

Gm. 5*: Wed., April 30: at Boston, TBD (TBD)

Gm. 6*: Fri., May 2: at Atlanta, TBD (TBD)

Gm. 7*: Sun., May 4: at Boston, TBD (TBD)

* if necessary

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out