AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 19
Monday, January 19, 2009
All hands on deck!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - No Al Horford.
No Marvin Williams.
No problem?
That’s the way the Hawks were operating in the 48 hours since their return from last week’s three-game Western Conference road trip.
But we won’t know for sure until today (Toronto’s here at Philips Arena) and tomorrow (the Hawks leave after the game for Chicago).
An advance scout friend of mine I spoke with before the game told me that Horford was the one player the Hawks couldn’t afford to lose.
“He’s far too important to their interior game, particularly on defense, and despite them never really focusing on him on offense, he’s their only legitimate post threat on offense,” my scout friend said. “For their sake I hope he’s not going to be out too long, because if he is, they’re going to have some troubles.”
My friend apparently doesn’t believe in the collective power of Zaza Pachulia, Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris.
If those three reserves can handle the workload while Horford recovers from the bone bruise in his right knee, the Hawks should be able to stay afloat. If not … that trouble my scout friend talked about could be on the horizon.
But I’m giving Horford’s reinforcements today to convince me that they can handle things while he’s out (and for how long remains one of the major questions surrounding these Hawks right now).
