Al Horford working his way back for the Atlanta Hawks

Al Horford returned to the court for the Atlanta Hawks last week and is slowly working his way back into form. Horford scored six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Detroit and appears to be getting more comfortable each time out.

"It's going to take, for me, just time," Horford told reporters following the game. "I will keep getting in game situations, start that chemistry again with Jef and get it going. I need to catch up with everybody else. I'm confident that we'll figure it out."

So far this preseason, Horford has appeared in three games and is shooting 41 percent from the field going 9-22. He played 21 minutes against the Pistons and that was the most minutes he has seen during the preseason. "I felt really good. I was pleased with the way that I felt."

"Al continues to take steps forward," said head coach Mike Budenholzer. Getting Al up over 20 minutes, him making a few post moves and he was able to score." The Hawks went to Horford early in the fourth and he responded with a series of scores in the post. One of which came over the outstretched arm of Andre Drummond whom Horford battled for much of the game.

His perimeter touch has been a bit slow to come back and he was 1-4 from that range on Saturday. His value to the Hawks was once again on display in the loss to the Pistons. The first time he exited the game Detroit went on a 12-0 run. When he first went to the bench in the second half the Pistons quickly ripped off an 8-0 run. Horford left the game for good with 7:41 remaining and Atlanta leading 90-79. They were outscored 25-10 the rest of the way.