Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer made his case for Paul Millsap and Al Horford to be named all-stars this week.
The reserves for the NBA All-Star Game will be announced on Thursday as the 12-man rosters are filled out by conference coaches. Millsap, a forward, was named a reserve in each of the past two seasons. Horford, a center, earned his third invitation to the game last season as part of the Hawks four-man contingent with guards Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. It was a busy weekend in New York last season with Budenholzer and his staff directing the Eastern Conference.
“I think it would great to see Paul on the team,” Budenholzer said. “I think Al should be under consideration. Those two guys are both very unique in what they bring to our team on a night-to-night basis. They both stand out to me. Very unique. I think they do so many things on both ends (of the court).
“East coaches, it’s a tough job and they do the best the can, but I think both those guys are worthy.”
Millsap leads the Hawks in scoring at 18.4 points and in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game. He is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 18.0 points 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. He ranks ninth in the league in steals, 17th in rebounds, 19th in blocks, 25th in shooting percentage and 29th in scoring. He scored in double-figures 43 times (in 45 games), including 21 20-point games.
Horford is second on the Hawks in scoring at 15.2 points and in rebounding with 7.1 boards per game. He ranks 16th in the league in blocks (1.5) and 23rd in field goal percentage (.502). He has scored in double figures 41 times, including seven 20-point and two 30-point games.
Budenholzer credited the versatility of Millsap and Horford, making his frontcourt players worthy of inclusion.
“It’s just a pick-and-roll league and you talk about pick-and-roll defense,” Budenholzer said. “All the things they allow us to do and how aggressive we can be in creating turnovers and making it difficult. Our defense is getting better and trending in a good direction and those two guys do so much. Offensively, people are a little more in touch in tune with that – shooting 3’s, passing, advancing the ball on the break. They do a lot of things.”
The All-Star Game will be played Sunday, Feb. 14 in Toronto.
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