His 15 points per game is fourth among centers, behind Bosh, Vucevic, and Jefferson. He's also a fairly weak rebounder (6.6 per game) for the position with the Hawks ranking 29th in offensive rebound rate and 17th in defensive rebound rate. Horford's defense has been hard to quantify in raw numbers, especially with only 1.4 blocks and 0.6 steals per game. Horford will be battling Bosh, Andre Drummond, Nikola Vucevic, and Al Jefferson (although his injury could keep him out).
Since the forwards in the East are weak, we'll have plenty of centers vying for those frontcourt selections. Because the All-Star positions are now "guards" and "frontcourt," centers aren't necessarily recognized. The center position is where it gets tricky for someone like Al Horford. He's been a better, more consistent player than Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose. His averages of 17.3 points (eighth among East guards), 7.3 assists (third among East guards), and 1.8 steals (third among East guards) all help him qualify, as does his 48.5 percent (also third) from the field. Teague is fourth in the East in Player Efficiency Rating, behind LeBron, Wade, and Hassan Whiteside. That leaves five spots left in the East and this Hawks quartet's credentials seem as good as anybody's. Outside of that starting five, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler should be locks for the festivities. We still have a couple weeks to go before All-Star rosters are decided, but the starting five of John Wall, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Pau Gasol appears to be a lock with voting results. Success sprouts from the team concept, but the core of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford has been good enough to warrant all four being selected to the 2015 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The Hawks' success comes from a system similar to the champion Spurs with a roster more relatable to that 2006 Pistons team. After winning their 12th straight game, the Hawks hit the halfway point at an East-leading 33-8 (the 32-6 Golden State Warriors have played three fewer games and have a higher winning percentage. The star power and the quality of teams have fallen while the Hawks have been building toward becoming a truly successful team under Mike Budenholzer. The quality of the Eastern Conference is low, maybe the lowest we've seen in decades.
Nearly a decade later, it only seems right that we'd see this same moment recreated this season for the Atlanta Hawks.Ī perfect storm allows it. It was a cool moment rewarding a team that wasn't identified by a star. With 3:38 left in the first quarter of the 2006 All-Star Game, Billups, Hamilton, and both Wallaces checked into the game. Detroit really wanted its entire starting five selected, but Prince never received that honor. The Pistons were cruising into All-Star weekend with a record of 42-9 and were being rewarded by opposing coaches around the East with four All-Star selections.
2006 ATLANTA HAWKS ROSTER FULL
Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton controlled the scoring on the perimeter and Tayshaun Prince was the glue guy on a team full of them. There wasn't one superstar rather it was a team effort that made them so impossible to handle.īen Wallace and Rasheed Wallace were protecting the paint and dominating the boards. They were coming off back-to-back NBA Finals appearances with one championship and a roster of complementary players was fueling their success. During the 2005-06 season, the Detroit Pistons were enjoying another spectacular regular season.
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