Oh, you thought with my time off that my enthusiasm for all things Horford would dissapate? Think again.
Before my break, I bordered on cyber-stalking by posting a string of pro-Horford pieces. But, as my lawyers have shown, note that these are actual articles from other writers....I am merely highlighting the fact that, outside of the Hawks locker room, the world believes Al to be one of the top players in the league, again.
Buuuut, just in case Horford's residency on Thursday night's All-star reserve clubhouse be in doubt, others have risen up to stand besides Peachtree Hoops to declare the Boss worthy.
Check it out:
Let's start with SBNation's own Tom Ziller, who is most enthusiastic about our guy's standing in the L:
Center: Al Horford, Hawks. Horford switches between forward and center depending on the opponent, but most of the time, he's at center. And most of the time, he's incredible, the best player on a team 12 games above .500. Horford's defensive rebounding is superlative, and he's shooting the lights out (57 percent) while carrying a heavier load than ever. He's a definite All-Star.
Elsewhere....
ProBasketballTalk's Ira Winderman lists Horford first and thinks his inclusion is fine.
On the same team, Kurt Helin concurs with his teammate's assessment of Horford's inclusion, though considerably more enthusiastically.
Chris Tomasson of Fanhouse says Horford should be there, but suggests it's more a technicality.
The Sporting News' Sean Deveney says Al's an easy choice to backup Dwight Howard.
The crew at TNT also put their video stamp of approval on Al's presence on the court in LA.
Mitch Lawrence of Fox Sports pits Horford against Toronto's Andrea Bargnani, but concludes that Horford, despite his lack of "eye-popping" numbers, wins out due to the Hawks' record.
RealGM's Chris Reina backhands the approval of Horford by taking a swipe at the Hawks' inconsistency (like everybody else is rock solid this year?).
Most other takes around the web support Al either due to the (2) centers law or because of the Hawks' winning record.