Updated: Hawks schedule released
Vivlamore filling in for MC.
The Hawks 2012-13 regular-season schedule was released Thursday and fans will get an opportunity to see two former key members of their team – Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams – return to Philips Arena in a five-day span.
The schedule also includes games against the Eastern and Western Conference champions, the Heat and Thunder, in a five-day span in the first month of the season.
Here are several other notables about the schedule:
Lin-sane start: The Hawks open the regular-season at home against the Rockets on Friday, Nov. 2. That will be Jeremy Lin’s first game with Houston after leaving the Knicks as a free agent this month. The season ends in New York against the Knicks and the Hawks old head coach Mike Woodson. Five of the eight games in April to end the season are at home.
Welcome back: Williams will return to Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 11 with the Jazz, exactly six months after he was traded. Johnson returns on Wednesday, Jan. 16 as a member of the Nets after he was traded in the off-season. The Hawks next game is also against Johnson, a Jan. 18 matchup in Brooklyn. Johnson will play once more in Atlanta on March 9.
Champions: The Hawks host the defending NBA champion Heat on Nov. 9. They will travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder on Nov. 4, the second game of the season.
Longest stretches: The schedule includes a season-high five straight home games from Nov. 24 to Dec. 7. It includes a season-long road trip of six games between Feb. 24 and March 4. The schedule features 30 stretches of three games in four nights. It also includes four stretches of four games in five nights.
Take a break: The NBA All-Star weekend will be Feb. 14-17 in Houston. The Hawks will play 51 games before the break, 26 at home.
National TV: The Hawks have six games on national television. They are on ESPN three times (twice vs. the Knicks and once vs. the Heat) and on NBA TV three times (vs. the Magic, Bulls and Pacers).
Holiday play: The Timberwolves will be this year’s Martin Luther King Day opponent at Philips Arena. They do not play on Thanksgiving or Christmas day but will spend New Year’s Eve in Houston and New Year’s Day in New Orleans.
Here is the complete Hawks’ 2012-13 regular-season schedule:
NOVEMBER
Fri 2 HOUSTON 7:30
Sun 4 @Oklahoma City 7:00
Wed 7 INDIANA 7:30
Fri 9 MIAMI 7:30
Sun 11 @LA Clippers 3:30
Mon 12 @Portland 10:00
Wed 14 @Golden State 10:30
Fri 16 @Sacramento 10:00
Mon 19 ORLANDO (NBATV) 7:30
Wed 21 WASHINGTON 7:30
Fri 23 @Charlotte 7:00
Sat 24 LA CLIPPERS 7:00
Wed 28 CHARLOTTE 7:30
Fri 30 CLEVELAND 7:30
DECEMBER
Sun 3 @LA Lakers 9:30
Wed 5 DENVER 7:30
Fri 7 WASHINGTON 7:30
Sat 8 @Memphis 8:00
Mon 10 @Miami 7:30
Wed 12 @Orlando 7:00
Thu 13 CHARLOTTE 7:30
Sat 15 GOLDEN STATE 7:00
Tue 18 @Washington 7:00
Wed 19 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:30
Fri 21 @Philadelphia 7:00
Sat 22 CHICAGO 7:00
Wed 26 DETROIT 7:30
Fri 28 @Cleveland 7:30
Sat 29 INDIANA 7:00
Mon 31 @Houston 7:00
JANUARY
Tue 1 @New Orleans 8:00
Fri 4 @Detroit 7:30
Sat 5 BOSTON 7:00
Tue 8 @Minnesota 8:00
Wed 9 @Cleveland 7:00
Fri 11 UTAH 7:30
Sat 12 @Washington 7:00
Mon 14 @Chicago (NBATV) 8:00
Wed 16 BROOKLYN 7:30
Fri 18 @Brooklyn 7:30
Sat 19 SAN ANTONIO 7:00
Mon 21 (#) MINNESOTA 2:00
Wed 23 @Charlotte 7:00
Fri 25 BOSTON 7:30
Sun 27 @New York (ESPN) 6:30
Wed 30 TORONTO 7:30
FEBRUARY
Sat 2 CHICAGO 7:00
Tue 5 @Indiana 7:00
Wed 6 MEMPHIS 7:30
Fri 8 NEW ORLEANS 7:30
Mon 11 @Dallas 8:30
Wed 13 @Orlando 7:00
ALL-STAR BREAK – February 14-17 – HOUSTON, TX
Wed 20 MIAMI (ESPN) 8:00
Fri 22 SACRAMENTO 7:30
Sat 23 @Milwaukee 8:30
Mon 25 @Detroit 7:30
Wed 27 @Utah 9:00
MARCH
Fri 1 @Phoenix 9:00
Sun 3 @LA Lakers 9:30
Mon 4 @Denver 9:00
Wed 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:30
Fri 8 @Boston 7:30
Sat 9 BROOKLYN 7:00
Tue 12 @Miami 7:30
Wed 13 LA LAKERS 7:30
Fri 15 PHOENIX 7:30
Sun 17 @Brooklyn 8:00
Mon 18 DALLAS 7:30
Wed 20 MILWAUKEE 7:30
Fri 22 PORTLAND 7:30
Sun 24 @Milwaukee 3:00
Mon 25 @Indiana (NBATV) 7:00
Wed 27 @Toronto 7:00
Fri 29 @Boston 7:30
Sat 30 ORLANDO 7:00
APRIL
Mon 1 CLEVELAND 7:30
Wed 3 NEW YORK (ESPN) 7:00
Fri 5 PHILADELPHIA 7:30
Sat 6 @San Antonio 8:30
Wed 10 @Philadelphia 7:00
Fri 12 MILWAUKEE 7:30
Tue 16 TORONTO 7:30
Wed 17 @New York 8:00
- Chris Vivlamore
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462 comments Add your comment
Slimjr
July 29th, 2012
10:23 pm
This Hawks Franchise for 44 years has been pure misery..HeHeHe
jhan
July 29th, 2012
10:26 pm
I agree Doc. How many times can you write the same thing about Horford? It really sucks that our center is probably going to average 15/10 this year – what a loser!
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:27 pm
he he he in spite of all the money and the press …. the knicks might have been as bad or as worse even with the ewing years. sorry slimj, if you throw darts you better be ready to catch em.
prediction, melo aint the answer and point guard will be pure misery for woody. seems like old times to me.
Slimjr
July 29th, 2012
10:28 pm
44 years, some have seen a lot of losing round these parts for sure….
Sautee
July 29th, 2012
10:28 pm
“We have shooters now, who can really shoot.. give up the rock Big Man….” – slimjr
Slim, that yet another straw man by you. Nobody on the blog has complained about Horford “giving up the rock”, now have they? And have any of those “shooters who can really shoot” shot as well as 56% from the field?
Horford has.
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:30 pm
quagmire and among guys who are a lot smarter than that. reminds me of little boys that wont let go of mother’s dress because if they do they might have to come up with something original on their own.
simply intelligencia abortus.
Slimjr
July 29th, 2012
10:32 pm
“. the knicks might have been as bad or as worse even with the ewing years. sorry slimj, if you throw darts you better be ready to catch em.” -doc-
OH Chit is this an imposter??????????????? Yes?
“Speechless somewhere in Georgia….Hahahahaha
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:32 pm
i think i was in college the last time the knocks won. i was also in college when the hawks arrived. what is it by your and dawg noles math 39 or 41 years since the knicks were winners slimj?
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:34 pm
39, 40 or 41 there slimj for one of the premier franchises in the nba? and you degrade the hawks?
Slimjr
July 29th, 2012
10:35 pm
Hey News Flash Sautee. I was not talking to you Bro..
Carry on with the other guy..
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:35 pm
slimj, maybe i need to go back and figure it up for you by dawgnole math, heh heh.
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:36 pm
are pgs, slimj, t-s and h-s the same person?
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:37 pm
seems like the same record.
Slimjr
July 29th, 2012
10:38 pm
“are pgs, slimj, t-s and h-s the same person?”
He really went there…Fascinating…..
MsDee
July 29th, 2012
10:42 pm
Funny how folks on here constantly dogg Horford, IMO, for no reason. Horford is a team 1st kind of player who saw fit to let the Opt 1 (JJ) and Opt 2 (Josh) guys shine while he basically played smart, doing what the defense gave him and others. He doesn’t force anything, passes well for a big guy and has a really nice 16-18 footer jumper. Is a 2-time AllStar while playing out of position. Horford basically had no real season this past season due to injury but still gave a heck of a effort in the last 2 playoff games.
After saying all of that, next season is the season for Horford to play up to his full potential! He will be entering the season being the 2nd Opt behind Josh and he knows it!! To take anything from his play during the Olympics is just foolish. Those games were the 1st real games he played after his months long injury while playing on a DOMINICAN REPUBLIC team of basically garbage players. NO ONE IS GOING TO GIVE THEIR ALL WHEN HE OR SHE KNOWS THE SQUAD THEY ARE PLAYING ON IS GARBAGE. Case-in-point, Dwight is by far the best player on the Magic’s team. When he finally realized his team was garbage and never gave it their all every night on the floor, he basically gave up!! The effort just wasn’t there due to no motivation from his teammates. That’s just human nature. You are not gonna bust yo butt for nothing. Now, not to compare Horford to Dwight but I was just making a point that Horford was on a garbage team and he really had nothing to prove trying to go up against the USA team or any team for that matter considering the fact that his team just wasnt good enough to go far in the Olympics.
So again, dont be surprise to see Horford put on a show for our Atlanta Hawks this season cause Dude will have something to prove and I just cant wait to see it up close and in person. There will be no Joe dribbling for days and Josh will now be able to relax and not force stupid shoots nor make dumb turn overs just to prove to the NBA world that he deserves to be an ALLSTAR or that he is a better player than Joe. Josh WILL be making quality shots and making smarter passes to Horford for very easy layups/ally’s. I do see both Josh AND Horford avg no less than 25pg/20pg respectfully. MARK MY WORDS!!
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:48 pm
slimj as the indomitable dmb says…. mmmwah.
heh heh
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:00 pm
PGS – In talking about San Antonio and Phoenix the past couple of years, I’m trying to figure out how Marion at the 3 enters the equation?
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:10 pm
PGS – And as of right now, I’m not against us playing Big. We may do like we did in 2010-11, and play either big or small depending on the opposition. It really boils down do we start Morrow or ZaZa on a given nite.
And much of that depends on Morrow. If he’s working like a beast right now, good for him and the Hawks. He started out like a real good player last January – then really slowed down. I think I saw he averaged maybe 15 ppg last January – then cooled off. Injury? Fatigue with the compressed schedule? Didn’t care with the really bad team? Defenses began to key in on him once Lopez went down? Don’t know.
Big we play:
ZaZa/Petro
Al/Ivan
Josh/Korver
Lou/Morrow/Jenkins/Stevenson
Teague/Harris
stephen a smith – I’m not sure how we don’t average about 20 per nite at the C with Al/ZaZa playing there 48 minutes.
With JJ gone, Al will probably get more touch’s, and he averaged 15+ his last full season, even with JJ here. You can’t go by his 1st 10 games last season. He was working his way into BB shape after marriage…
And surely ZaZa will get us close to 5 ppg. So that’s right at 20 ppg.
And if you want to get into shooting %’s in the playoffs, and ya’ll know I’ve been defending Josh on here, but he averaged like 38.9% shooting in the playoffs.
The arguments work both ways.
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:13 pm
The Josh playoff shooting % last year may not have been directed at stephen smith – I can’t remember who brought up Al’s playoff shooting %. So I just reread my post, and it sounded like I was directing that at smith also. I wasn’t – Just general info.
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:17 pm
Our D may be better starting ZaZa at C, but our Offense won’t be better probably.
ZaZa averaged like 8.2 ppg in 30.3 mpg as a starter last season.
Morrow averaged 12.0 ppg in about 27.6 mpg last season.
Morrow is probably a better offensive option than Korver as well. Not alot better, but some better.
But if we can get that Korver that averaged 53.5% or so from 3 a few years ago with the Jazz – I’ll take that guy coming off the bench.
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:19 pm
Morrow, Korver, Jenkins – We have some deadeye 3 point shooters this year.
Throw in Lou, Harris, and Teague – along with Al who can drain open midrange jumpers all day long, we have indeed become a team of jumpshooters.
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:21 pm
And whoever was ranking Brook Lopez ahead of Al at C – I’m not buying that yet. Brook may average 20 ppg on a bad team – but he needs to show me he can rebound, and play some solid man D, not just block a few shots here and there.
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:23 pm
The NBA Coach’s kept electing Al at C to the All Star team, not Brook Lopez.
But Greg Monroe may take Hibbert, Al, Bargnani, Lopez, whoever’s place as an All Star C on a perenniel basis. That guy has talent, and he’s young, like only 22 or something.
MsDee
July 29th, 2012
11:24 pm
Would still like for Ferry to get Iggy here. Dont care how Lou feels, last I checked, Danny Ferry is the boss around here now a days.
STARTING:
Teague
Jenkins (yes Jenkins; dont have to play alot of min but he should start)
Iggy
Josh
Horford
BENCH:
Harris
Lou/Morrow
Korver/Josh
Ivan/Horford
Zaza/Benson
OTHERS:
Mike Scott
Stevenson
Jordan
Petro
P.Sy
SteveW
July 29th, 2012
11:28 pm
And if Lamarcus Aldredge had Josh’s playoff stats of 16.8 ppg, 13.6 rebounds, and 4.8 dimes, the National press would be vomiting out non-stop incessant praise of the next, great, perenniel All Star LaMarcus Aldredge.
But Josh, on a bum knee, will his way to those stats against the Celtics no less – and the silence is deafening.
Has Aldredge ever averaged 8 rebounds per game in a season yet?
Has Lopez even averaged 7 rebounds in a season yet?
They may have, I haven’t looked – but I know Josh and Al are way better rebounders than those two.
brigadierjerry
July 29th, 2012
11:38 pm
It amazes me sometimes that some people think Horford is some type of d-league player but expect him to play as if he is on the level of a D Howard. Horford is what he is as I have stated many times, he is a 3rd or 4th option on offense but that is ok. He is a Buck Williams/Horace Grant type of player. Anyone expecting him to be a 2nd option on offense is kidding themselves. This Hawks team as currently constituted will be the result of the sum is greater than the parts.
I see people tout Brook Lopez as being vastly superior to Horford and I dont see it. Lopez probably a better scorer but Horford I think better overall rebounder even if Lopez has had some down years rebounding.
Also, slimjr, as an FYI, week ago u stated Starks won game 6 in MSG in the FInals against the Rockets. That is not true they lost game 6 in Houston and lost the series in 7 games even though Starks had a good game 6.
Also, the comment you made about Horford getting more rebounds and playing less of an offensive role is the only positive thing you have ever said about Horford
High-sider
July 29th, 2012
11:43 pm
@doc [and Buddy Grizzard and Big Ray]
doc
July 29th, 2012
10:36 pm
are pgs, slimj, t-s and h-s the same person?
—————————————————————-
No, but “High-sider,” “Hi-tech Lynching,” “The Real Mandingo,” “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” “Uncle Tom” and “Give-us Us Free [Amistad]” are/were the same person. [See the "Angry Black Male" theme (going on there).] LOL!!!!!
P.S. I was just kidding about the “San Antone/Antoine” comment yesterday. LOL!
MsDee
July 29th, 2012
11:45 pm
Horford IS a 2nd option player on the Hawks..no Buck Williams/Horace Grant comparison..sorry!!
MsDee
July 29th, 2012
11:47 pm
There is no other go-to guy on the Hawks BUT Josh and Horford..Teague and Harris will get theirs but both Josh and Horford are the first 2 options this year!!
doc
July 29th, 2012
11:54 pm
high sider, nothing but respect. but you can throw a blankee over you guys when it comes to certain impulses you guys have. heh heh
doc
July 30th, 2012
12:04 am
anyway for the good friend slimj, the intentional antagonist to the hawks sad history.
with all that money and even one of the best centers of the last sixty years as certain guys here seek out the perfect center, i might add,
, in ewing, there have been only TWO championships for the over spending, most adored group of losers since the mets in the new york knicks, to never have done anything with the luxuries they have been adorned. TWO championships for the big metropolis of new york in my long lifetime. combine that with the nets run of mediocrity and i sense a much bigger wasteland in new york than in the big a. sorry, two championships for the greater new york basketball teams in how many attempts?
fyi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Knicks#Early_years_.281946.E2.80.931967.29
sorry, so sorry a group of franchises that side of the mason dixon line.
slimj, woody is going to bring it to you? maaahhhhahahah
slimj were you even alive when the knicks won their two in 70 and 73?
Slimjr
July 30th, 2012
12:08 am
“the comment you made about Horford getting more rebounds and playing less of an offensive role is the only positive thing you have ever said about Horford” bjerry
bjerry trying to come up with something more original! Slow news night! LMAO!
Glad you got it homie! Hehehe
High-sider
July 30th, 2012
12:12 am
@SteveW
“…But Josh, on a bum knee, will his way to those stats against the Celtics no less – and the silence is deafening.
Has Aldredge ever averaged 8 rebounds per game in a season yet?…” – SteveW @11:28pm, 7/29/2012
LaMarcus Aldridge’s Partial Regular Season NBA Stats -
2009-2010: 17.9ppg, 8.0rpg [78 games]
2010-2011: 21.8ppg, 8.8rpg [81 games]
2011-2012: 21.7ppg, 8.0rpg [55 games]
Through 18 career playoff games, LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 19.8ppg, 7.0rpg and 1.6apg while shooting 46.2% from the field and 75.0% from the free throw line.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/aldrila01.html
Slimjr
July 30th, 2012
12:15 am
If All NBA is your 2nd option on offense then as one of the previous bloggers has stated this franchise has no shot at winning a 1st round playoff series..Sorry that’s not a knock, it is what it is…
doc
July 30th, 2012
12:17 am
now how many banners did you hang in new york with the best center in the league with the knicks slimj?
oh, the best guy was in houston and only 6′10″? heh heh
shaq was a freak but ewing was there early on. how could the knicks have failed? with all that money too.
Slimjr
July 30th, 2012
12:20 am
Hmmm, Western Conference has been the superior conference for years..
What kind of “nimbers” would LaMarcus put up if he played against Al and the gang in the East on a nightly basis? Hmmmmm
Slimjr
July 30th, 2012
12:22 am
is steven a doing his best impersonations again…….Hahahaha
Hey Sautee: yawn…….
Slimjr
July 30th, 2012
12:25 am
Okay doc: GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There ya happy now…..Hehehehe.
I’m out ladies….
SteveW
July 30th, 2012
1:18 am
HS – I also looked up Lopez’s numbers, and saw he averaged over 8 boards a game his 1st couple of seasons – then his last full season – 5.9!
And he was only averaging 3.5 rebounds per game before he was injured in 5 games last season.
And thanks for making my point about Josh and Lamarcus – He averages 19.8, 7.0, and 1.6 – and he’s great.
Josh goes for 16.8, 13.6, and 4.8 and he’s chopped liver nationally, and even on this blog sometimes.
Slim – I hear what your saying – but that’s really difficult to tell how LaMarcus would do in the East. I guess one could get the stats from somewhere about his stats vs. Eastern Conference teams – but not this cowboy – life’s too short.
SteveW
July 30th, 2012
1:24 am
LaMarcus vs. Garnett, Bosh, Josh, Taj Gibson/Boozer, Amare, David West, etc. on a nightly basis may not be the easiest proposition however. Even some of the poor defenders are good on O, and he’d have to defend them.
And Aldredge is a terrible 3 pt shooter, doesn’t block shots, doesn’t get steals, doesn’t get assists, is not that good of a rebounder – but he’s better than Josh? I’m not buying it.
pointguardslim
July 30th, 2012
1:31 am
Aldridge is seen as a throwback, a natural post player. Josh is a better wing player, and moves his feet better on defense.
Of course you can say Josh is a better player. But at best both are 3rd best players on a title team, so whats the point?
SteveW
July 30th, 2012
1:31 am
And as a surprise to me – Aldredge is actually older than Josh. By about 5 1/2 months, but still.
Guys – forget Al as the 2nd option being a non-starter – Josh as a 1st option ain’t good either. And ya’ll know I defend Josh, but just sayin’.
But I think Danny is right: Our floor spacing will be incredible with Morrow, Lou, Korver, Jenkins on the wings and with Teague and Harris getting to the rim at will. It will create (or should) some easy buckets. Josh and Al should feast.
We’ll see.
SteveW
July 30th, 2012
1:34 am
PGS – The point really is national perception. I hear about Aldredge’s greatness on a regular basis with ‘casters just gushing.
And Josh gets the shoulder shrug.
But Josh overall is a better player.
SteveW
July 30th, 2012
1:40 am
pgs – Unfortunately, you are probably correct on the Title analysis.
Blue Steel
July 30th, 2012
3:01 am
“You just said yourself that Al was no worse than 5th or 6th in the conference, which means he competes well at that position with all but a few centers. Who in the league do you think we could REALISTICALLY get that is better than Al? Not pipe dreams. Real talk, who could we obtain?” -Sautee
First lets clear up the misconception with your argument. Being 5th 6th or 7th best center in your conference is not going to get you past the second round.
Now to help your argument I took Al’s best 1 year to help him, because if I take his over all performance during his five year career, Al leaves me shaking my head. With out singling out his 1 best year Al would easily fit in the bottom 45% of the conference and bottom 35% of the NBA. So to help poor Al, I took His 1 productive year. which again is misleading because that’s not a good measure of what he does night in night out. All players have good games and bad games, good seasons and bad season. You have to measure their impact by the total of their career. If that is the standard then I would rather have Al coming off the bench than starting.
Stats here’s are from his one (1) decent year.
From an offensive stand point, Al is ranked by NBA.com as #4 amongst eastern teams and #5 if you include the west.
Lets look at what Al brings to the table defensively. We certainly want our center’s ability to block and ALTER shots while denying the paint and the rim. That’s what centers do and what the position was designed for. This more than other things measure the quality of your center’s impact.
In that critical area (blocks) Al ranks # 11 which is very close to the bottom when you consider there are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. He falls to #22 when you look at the NBA as a whole, which means in the key area of protecting the rim by blocks, alters, denying a path to the basket Al is amongst the bottom 20% in our conference and the bottom 25% in the NBA
Ok lets go to Al’s strongest point, Double Double (rebounds and points) where he ranked 2nd in the conference amongst centers (I went to 2010-11). There were 6 centers whose numbers were logically equal to Al’s but the actual arrangements Al’s was was listed 2nd. This is probably the most insignificant and misleading of all the stats. I say this because:
a) 10/10 is a double double but it doesn’t mean you did any serious damage.
b) rebounds often happen when some one else plays the defense and you wait for the rebound
c) there are 21 players in the east conference alone who have put up more than 21 games of DD’s
So Al who’s career average is 12pts and 8 rebs (nearly a DD) is a marginal double double.
So here’s my summary:
Al’s very best is only 20% of what his career performance is, in other words Al is at his very best 20% of the time (1 decent year out of 5) No excuses, it is what it is.
Al will live near the double double but that’s closer to 10/10. In addition there are well over 50 players in the NBA who have posted more than 10 games of double double. Meaning this is not a very difficult to reach stat.
Most importantly, defensively, even in Al’s one (1) good year, he was amongst the bottom 20% of centers. Completely non serviceable protecting the rim. And that was his best year. SMH.
So in conclusion. 20% of the time Al is a decent scorer, the other 80% of the time hes a non performer or is injured (still non performing). 100% of the time he is a very inadequate defender in the paint. That is the testimony of Al’s career as a hawk. You can call it All star/All NBA if you like.
I call it Awful and gone fishing after round 2. because you will never ever never get past the second round with Al defending your rim. Never with Al on your front line as a starter. It taint going to happen.
Luke warm offensively and none existing defensively. When you talk about being a complete force at the 5 spot Al would move down to 15 or 16 NBA or 7th 8th conference making him an average Joe and not a top center.
Time to trade Al
High-sider
July 30th, 2012
5:16 am
@Blue Steel [and Sautee]
“…In that critical area (blocks) Al ranks # 11 which is very close to the bottom when you consider there are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. He falls to #22 when you look at the NBA as a whole, which means in the key area of protecting the rim by blocks, alters, denying a path to the basket Al is amongst the bottom 20% in our conference and the bottom 25% in the NBA…
…So Al who’s career average is 12pts and 8 rebs (nearly a DD) is a marginal double double…” – Blue Steel @3:01am, 7/30/2012
15 NBA Eastern Conference Teams [divided into quintile(s) or fifths]
1 – 3 – 1st Quintile – 1% – 20%
4 – 6 – 2nd Quintile – 21% – 40%
7 – 9 – 3rd Quintile – 41% – 60%
10 – 12 – 4th Quintile – 61% – 80%
13 – 15 – 5th Quintile – 81% – 100%
If Al Horford ranked #11 in blocks [either overall or amongst centers] in the Eastern Conference, then he [Horford] is not in the bottom 20%. The “Blocked Shots” statistic is a stat usually led by centers and forwards. If we were to assume that there are a total of 45 starting centers [15] and forwards [30] in the Eastern Conference with Al Horford being ranked #11 in blocked shots, then Horford would be in the top third [1 - 15] and top quarter [1 - 11.25] in blocked shots in the Eastern Conference.
30 Total NBA Teams [divided into quartile(s) or fourths]
1 – 7.5 – 1st Quartile – 1% – 25%
7.6 – 15 – 2nd Quartile – 26% – 50%
16 – 22.5 – 3rd Quartile – 51% – 75%
22.6 – 30 – 4th Quartile – 76% – 100%
If Al Horford ranked #22 in blocked shots in the NBA, then Horford would not [technically] be in the bottom 25% in the NBA. If we were, again, to assume that there are 90 starting centers [30] and forwards [60] in the NBA with Horford being ranked #22 in blocked shots, then Horford would be in the top third [1 - 30] and top quarter [1 - 22.5] in blocked shots in the NBA.
For the record (FTR), Al Horford’s NBA career regular season averages for points and rebounds are 12.8ppg and 9.5rpg, respectively, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 76.1% from the free throw line. Please note Al Horford has averaged at least 9.3rpg during the regular season in his first four years [2007-2011] in the NBA.
Al Horford is a solid NBA player [center/power forward].
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/horfoal01.html
ag
July 30th, 2012
6:15 am
Sautee – I can appreciate us on the blogs agreeing to disagree. Just when people call Al a loser because he will average 15 ppg 10 rbs this season. But – less than a dozen centers in the NBA will do better – so if I have a top 5 center – is he truly a loser or Kendrick Perkins, Joel Anthony etc? I can’t stomach Jason Collins (Boston) or ZaZa (brick hands) in our starting lineup!
Also, the 7 to’s in the playoffs – Al was clearly very rusty! I did watch him have a monster 4th quarter to atone for those turnovers.
vava74
July 30th, 2012
6:18 am
High-sider,
First sound post you ever made.
But I like the Buck Williams / Horace Grant comparison made by someone here in the blog with the caveat that he has been playing softer than those cats recently. Hopefully he will get back into being a more intense player as he came into the league.
Horford is solid, as he was slated to be: most NBA ready player of his draft and that is what he proved to be.
brigadierjerry
July 30th, 2012
6:31 am
Msdee,
I know Horford is a 2nd option on this team and has to be that way my point being is in an ideal situation he is not Doesnt make him a bad player I like Horford as a player. I think Smith is a 2nd option at best in an ideal situation but will play on this team as the first option.
SteveW, you have made some excellent points in regards to the team and I agree with them.
I think this team as constructed will get anywhere as high as a 5seed and as low as an 8. Good thing about this team is that there should be some good spacing to get the perimeter guys good shots. Definetely need a SF and I would take Iggy if he can be had for very little the Hawks give up.
I am also curious to see how the fanbase will react to showing up to the Phillips arena for this seasons team. I plan on going to some games when I am in the area visiting some family.
I am suprised Ivan has not been signed yet. It seemed the market has dried up for him.
ag
July 30th, 2012
6:44 am
High-sider – I actually do agree with you also. Also the arguement is we cannot win with a bottom tier center – well Miami with Joel Anthony or OKC with Kendrick Perkins are in real trouble!