Atlanta Hawks: 5 Observations From Hawks-Spurs

Oct 9, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford (right) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

Al Horford’s three-point shooting is here to stay

In the first two games of the preseason something was different about Al Horford. He was lingering around the three-point line a bit more often instead of hanging out in the paint. Rather than passing whenever the ball found its way to him he elected to go ahead and launch. Even more unusually, the shots were going in the basket.

Last night he didn’t have as much success, but he kept shooting. Even his misses looked good. Horford finished 1-for-3 from outside against the Spurs, bringing his preseason numbers to 4-for-9 through the first three games. The shot is obviously a work in progress, but the early results have been largely positive.

If he can stay consistent, and knock down a reasonable percentage of his attempts (lets say 33 to 35 percent), this will be a dangerous weapon for Horford and Hawks. It will be especially helpful for lineups that feature Horford and Tiago Splitter. Horford gave his thoughts on the matter in KL Chouinard’s excellent article about this process.

"“It helps our team,” he said. “The ability to have your 5-man stretch out and every now and then shoot a shot like that, it keeps the defense honest and stretches the floor.”"

In addition to making centers chase him around the three-point arc, Horford with a three-point shot means they don’t lose their stretch-four when they go big. That obviously helps their spacing and makes them even tougher to guard. It will be interesting to see if Horford’s three-point shooting experiment lasts into the regular season. I’d guess the answer is a resounding “yes”.

Next: The Return of Thabo