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Atlanta Hawks Year of 2016 in Review: Individual Performances

By Tyler Sellers

Apr 26, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) and guard Dennis Schroder (17) react against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Celtics 110-83. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) and guard Dennis Schroder (17) react against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Celtics 110-83. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 24, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) controls the ball during the second half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) controls the ball during the second half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Best Player Performances During a Playoff Series

3. Al Horford 04/16/2016 Game 1 vs. Boston Celtics

The Hawks back-peddled their way into the playoffs last season. They lost their final two games, on the road against Cleveland, and then again in a road match-up with Washington. For the Washington game in particular, Atlanta had a golden opportunity to move up from the 4th seed to the 3rd seed, and avoid seeing the Cavs until a potential Eastern Conference Finals rematch. No one was going to knock off Cleveland beforehand, so they should’ve wanted to postpone a Cavs series for as long as they could.

By the time the playoffs arrived, they were heavily favored to beat the Celtics in a series in which Atlanta held home court advantage. The Celtics came out flat, missing on their first seven shots from the field. Boston was very shy when it came to attacking the rim on offense, as even their big men settled for long, contested jump shots. At the end of the first quarter, Atlanta had already built a 30-19 lead.

Al Horford was a major factor in helping the Hawks jump out to a 1-0 lead in the series. He logged the most playing time for the team, with over 36 minutes of action. He also had a higher usage rate than any of his teammates at 26.1 percent. He stayed active crashing the boards, with five offensive rebounds. His offensive rebounding rate of 13.6 percent was significantly higher than anyone else on either team

Horford would finish the 102-101 decision in favor of the Hawks with a stat line of 24 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. He didn’t have the most accurate results shooting the ball, as he went 8-for-17 from the field and 1-for-2 from three-point range. He did actually connect on 7-for-8 of his attempts from the charity stripe, however.

Al Horford has not had a terrible reputation in terms of faltering in the playoffs. He usually performs at a similar level to how he would in the regular season. With that said, his inability to rebound the basketball had often haunted the Hawks when the pace slowed to a half court battle in the playoffs. For this game in particular, he was actually the strongest rebounder on the court.

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