# Al Horford - Rookie of the Year?



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Does anybody think he has an outside chance at winning this? I think he deserves some votes for what he's been doing, but it seems like the media has fallen too deep in love with Kevin Durant to change their minds. When you're labeled as the Rookie of the Year by the media before the season even starts, then you'll probably win it. 

His numbers aren't that bad at all, and he's helped the Hawks stay in the Playoff race in the East.


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## different_13 (Aug 30, 2005)

Outside chance? Outside the solar system, maybe.

Let's face it, it's Durant's title to lose. The media are gonna go with the flashy 20+ppg scorer over someone who does the dirty work every time. And as you say, he's been anointed for what, 2 years now?


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I wish I could say he has a chance - he deserves it. But bad-shooting scorers will win it every time over guys who do the dirty work. All-Rookie First Team should be a lock though.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Krstic All Star said:


> All-Rookie First Team should be a lock though.


I agree.

Kevin Durant really has not impressed me that much for as impressive as he was in college. I was expecting him to turn in a Melo-like rookie season, but he seems really selfish and doesn't know how to do very many things. I would say he needed to stay in college but he was so dominant there that I don't know what good that would do them. Hopefully, he can develop like he should as they surround him with better players.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

What bothers me with Durant is that he misses SO many shots, including ones he shouldn't be taking to begin with.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

I watched the Lakers/Sonics game last night, and Durant (except for two nice dunks) looked absolutely horrible on the floor. I'm starting to wonder if a team can really even be built around him.

As for Horford, he should definitely make the All-Rookie 1st Team. I'd like to at least think that Horford will be the runner-up to the ROTY award.


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## Damian Necronamous (Jun 10, 2002)

Durant is the most inefficient player ever...the award should go to Horford, especially if the Hawks win 38-odd games and squeak into the playoffs.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I'm still trying to see if having a PG like Bibby will help Horford's game, not to mention his chances at ROY.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Hopefully when we start playing East teams again, Hawks can get on another roll and re-enter the playoff picture.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

It's good to see that his shot attempts went up in February (9.5/game in the month), but his shooting in the month dropped to .433. Even so, that's really the result of a few really off games. Unlike the consistently lousy Durant...


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Krstic All Star said:


> It's good to see that his shot attempts went up in February (9.5/game in the month), but his shooting in the month dropped to .433. Even so, that's really the result of a few really off games. Unlike the consistently lousy Durant...


:curse:


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

durant sucks, i don't think he's a franchise player.. maybe he'll improve his game and prove us wrong. 

but yeah, al horford is better. he should be ROY i think.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

If I had a vote he would get it. 


I don't think he will win though. Durant has been hyped so much they almost can't not give it to him.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Durant has a higher PER than Horford, he isn't less effective. It's not his fault that he got hyped, he is playing at a solid level in his rookie season, just not spectacular like some expected.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

:curse:  PER


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Stop hating Hollinger.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I will, as soon as he stops sucking.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Kidd's PER for his games in Dallas is at 20.5 right now, that's his average for the last years and four points higher than with the Nets this season. I don't think PER is perfect, but it's very useful if you want to see tendencies.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

My feelings on the worth of PER are well-known... 

And in particular, today's least favorite part of PER is 'True' Shooting Percentage. 2FG% is much useful as an indicator, albeit a compartmentalized one.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

On ESPN.com, David Thorpe has his new Top 10 rookies, and Al Horford is leading the way, and not Durant.

He also has an article about it, but you have to be an insider to view it. If someone can post it, though, that'd be great.


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## Iskender (Feb 18, 2008)

Horford>Durant. He is more useful player.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Keep As Is said:


> On ESPN.com, David Thorpe has his new Top 10 rookies, and Al Horford is leading the way, and not Durant.
> 
> He also has an article about it, but you have to be an insider to view it. If someone can post it, though, that'd be great.


Now I want to see that article. Maybe Horford has more of a shot at ROY than we thought?


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=thorpe_david&page=Rookies-080227


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ Thanks! A key paragraph:


> Watching tape of Al Thornton this week left me thinking of all the times I used to watch him in college, wondering what he'd be like if he ever learned to play to exhaustion. Now I know; he's a dynamic player who becomes his team's go-to guy on many possessions.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Read it again, KAS, he is not talking about Horford 

Thorpe is Florida biased, he is praising everyone from there. I believe he said before the draft that he would consider taking Noah over Horford, go figure.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Argh, dammit. I skimmed ahead, and figured that he'd be talking about his top ranked rookie first. :clown:


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

NBA.com has Horford ranked as the top rookie.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

How crazy would it be if Horford somehow did win the award?


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Pretty Crazy!!!11


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

The way he's playing, he deserves it. And his numbers seem to be going up since the trade for Bibby.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

If the Hawks make the playoffs, he has a chance, but I still don't see it happening because he hasn't been better than Durant for one and he isn't even close to being the first option on his team. I like Horford a lot, but you have to consider that Durant has a lot more pressure because he is the first option on a terrible team and still gives you equal or slightly better production.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Durant is shooting a lousy .400 from the floor, with .283 on threes, with a pedestrian 4.2 rpg considering his height, and more turnovers than assists. I'd take the infinitely less flashy Horford every time in comparing their rookie seasons.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

If Horford was playing on a team (say Toronto or Orlando) with a better record, do you think the consensus would be different?


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

If he was averaging more points it would probably make the most difference.


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## tha supes (Aug 12, 2003)

TheATLien said:


> I agree.
> 
> Kevin Durant really has not impressed me that much for as impressive as he was in college. I was expecting him to turn in a Melo-like rookie season, but he seems really selfish and doesn't know how to do very many things. I would say he needed to stay in college but he was so dominant there that I don't know what good that would do them. Hopefully, he can develop like he should as they surround him with better players.


I think that has to do with the fact that we have no veteran to teach Durant the NBA game.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Krstic All Star said:


> If he was averaging more points it would probably make the most difference.


Really?!?!?! :lol:


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ I hate to say it, but when you look back at the list of ROY winners over the last 20 years (or 30 even), there are no players averaging less than double figure scoring, and it seems that Mike Miller is an exception at only around 11 ppg in his rookie season. Judging by that, while it's ridiculous, it seems that voters consider scoring very important.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

I know, it seemed like a really obvious thing to say. Although not as bad as saying if he was getting more votes, that would probably make the most difference.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I went all the way back to the first-ever ROY, Don Meineke. He only averaged 10.7 ppg, but then again, scoring was much lower then too.


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## B-Roy (Feb 12, 2008)

Durant is stuck carrying a failing franchise, while Horford has much less pressure put on him. His team is much worse, and he's stuck having to make the most shots. It's a lot of pressure to be putting on a rookie that young. Not to mention he's stuck playing shooting guard.


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## different_13 (Aug 30, 2005)

Yes, but you'd expect his offense to be better. How many 6'8+ shooting guards are there? Durant should have at least a 2 or 3 inch advantage over opposing guards, not to mention quite a big vertical too..

I understand that he's the first (and nearly the only) option on his team, and that opponents can pretty much zero in on him...
But you'd expect at least 40% shooting from him.. Better rebounding too - if Kidd is a threat to get double figures in rebounding from the point guard position, how is Durant not getting at least 5 or 6 per game on a consistent basis?

Now, Durant will probably end up being the better player (or the more valuable / important to his team), but he's not having _that_ good of a rookie season.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, as he puts on strength, learns the game and gets better teammates, he'll become a much better player. But this year? Horford's nearly averaging a double-double, on a team with decent rebounders at at least 3 other positions; and he's never more than the 3rd or 4th option on offense (Johnson/Smith/Williams/Bibby tend to get looks first, right?)

Durant's gonna win RoY, but Horford's a pretty good runner-up.
With that said, this year's rookie class isn't particularly great..


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

I think the top of the draft is gonna turn out pretty good: Durant, Conley, Yi, Horford, and that Oden guy. Horford's offense will develop, but I don't know if Conley will ever develop into a scoring threat. As long as Memphis continues to draft well he should rack up a ton of assists.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

From the Daily Dime at ESPN.com:



> Rookie of the year …
> 
> It's Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks. He's kind of under the radar because of his team's fortunes. But the team is in a playoff battle for the East's eighth and final playoff spot despite its 30-40 record. Atlanta is a team based on athleticism and guard play, and it very seldom runs anything in terms of plays for him. He can rebound it and can even take it coast-to-coast, averaging 9.8 points and 9.8 rebounds in 31 minutes per game.
> 
> That said, Kevin Durant will probably win the award for the simple fact people will look at what he's averaging (19.6 points). His shooting is hovering around 42 percent and his team isn't winning. Luis Scola and Carl Landry from Houston have been impressive, even though Landry did not play for much of the season and has now missed some games recently with injury. Al Thornton of the Clippers would also get more consideration if not for being injured early on.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080326


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

Horford is better than Durant and has been more productive and efficient, he deserves it, only people voting for Durant are guys that watched too many Texas games and basing it on what Durant did in college against scrubs.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

I don't think Horford is better than Durant. Horford is a great rebounder, yes, but Durant is actually leading in more categories among rookies overrall, not just at his position.

People look at his percentage, but Lebron shot 41%, Melo shot 42%, and they were still considered to have good years.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

Portland fan here:

Horford has my vote for ROY. I like him a lot. Its up in the air between him and Durant, i like them both, and both will probably end up being all stars at least once.

i really like your guy's team a lot. Bibby, Johnson, Smith, Williams and Horford are pretty awesome. And you guys have players like Acie Law and Childress off the bench. You guys are an up and coming team. 

I really like Josh Smith a lot. do you guys know what is going to happen with him and his future in the ATL? I know he is the type of player Portland would LOVE. Just defense, dirty work and rebounding, and we have a good amount of stuff to offer (like Outlaw, Sergio, Jack, webster, #13 pick this year, future first, cash and so onnn...) so was wondering what you guys think about his future with the Hawks? and do you guys know whats up with his contract? how much longer he has? thanks guys.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Josh Smith will be a free agent this summer, I think, but Atlanta has the right to match any offer..

I don't think Atlanta is actively trying to trade him, but because of the Hawks' ownership/court problems it might or might not be difficult to sign him to a long-term contract. The Steve Belkin/Atlanta Spirit fighting is like a dark cloud looming over the organization. Makes it hard for me to get excited about this team's future until ownership is on the same page.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

Why has that taken so long to settle? Joe Johnson already has 2 yrs left on the deal after this season.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Steve Belkin is still trying to buy out the other members. You would think he would take a clue, and try for another franchise or another sport.


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## dada (Mar 28, 2008)

Durant has been pretty strong as of late and there really isnt any better way to respond to Al Horford's performances that to do this:

Kevin Durant 22.0 PT .533 of 15.1 FG .894 of 6.3 FT .308 of 0.9 3P 4.1/0.9 RB 2.2 AS 0.6 BL 0.8 ST 3.4 TO 2.0 PF 36.1 MN 15/15 GS (last 15 games)


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## gi0rdun (May 31, 2007)

Horford with some big free throws just now.


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## gi0rdun (May 31, 2007)

Another set of huge free throws. This guy is going to be good.


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