Al Horford has been mediocre. He doesnt deserve his salary

[BitterJim]

7 pts tonight.  Previously 2 other duds. Overall just not cutting it

He is expecting Kyrie to do most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end. Plus has been plain average on defense

What to do with this guy?  Maybe its time to consider trading him (and eat 50 cents on the dollar)

Trade for a cheaper option like Dedmon to take care of things around the paint

The original post 

In fairness, he's still expecting other people to do the heavy lifting on the offensive end. It's good for him that has worked out with Rozier, Brown, and Tatum. Heck, even Brad said we can't expect him to carry the team on his back offensively on a regular basis.

That's not anything new with Al, though. We gave him the max (and other teams were prepared to as well) knowing full well that he wasn't a #1 option. Everything else about his game makes him worth it, especially when you have a team that has 4+ guys that can be top options offensively

[footey]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list. 

Play station bloggers get confused by that. 

[csfansince60s]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list. 

Play station bloggers get confused by that.

Tp....good post about the relative “worth” of players and their contracts.

 I am looking forward to the day when I see playoff Al with a big smile on his face hoisting Larry O’Brien......That would be really cool, he deserves it!

[fairweatherfan]

Even when he has a terrible game, he comes through when it matters (miss FT aside).

Keep in mind that Embiid was 10-for-26.  Horford did his job.

Not to knock Al after an incredible finish but a lot of that was Baynes.

Finally got some stats on this.

Embiid vs. Horford:

4-for-12, 8 points, 2 turnovers, blocked twice

Embiid vs. Baynes:

6-for-13, 14 points, 0 turnovers, not blocked

Those two account for 71 of Embiid’s 80 possessions.

https://stats.nba.com/game/0041700213/matchups/?OFF_PLAYER_ID=203954&DEF_PLAYER_ID=

They've played with different line ups too though. I'm not saying your stats don't have merit (they obviously do) but Horford's *potentially* playing with a better defensive unit around him in this series too, making it somewhat easier to defend Embid.

I think a good way of summing it up is that we leaned on Baynes to wear down Embiid and keep him in check earlier in the game, and he did a good job. Then we relied basically exclusively on Al down the stretch, and he did a great job in addition to his work on offense.

It's a 1-2 punch - Horford did the better job on D but had more energy and a more fatigued Embiid because of Baynes' work earlier.  Great work either way - as far as I'm concerned he can get all the points he wants at <1 per shot.

[Fafnir]

Horford at the 5 is also our best offensive lineup, and our best switching lineup to handle if Philly is playing their best 3 shooters with Embiid/Simmons.

So it makes sense to save that for when we're closing the half/game or need an offensive boost.

[kozlodoev]

That's not anything new with Al, though. We gave him the max (and other teams were prepared to as well) knowing full well that he wasn't a #1 option. Everything else about his game makes him worth it, especially when you have a team that has 4+ guys that can be top options offensively

Well, it's a bit of a vicious circle though -- need to sign #1 options, but you don't have cap space because you paid the max to Al who is a worse player when you have fewer #1 options around him... We're in a bit of a luck that our picks all panned out and panned out quickly so we have a wealth of scoring at below market levels.

[kozlodoev]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

[PhoSita]

7 pts tonight.  Previously 2 other duds. Overall just not cutting it

He is expecting Kyrie to do most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end. Plus has been plain average on defense

What to do with this guy?  Maybe its time to consider trading him (and eat 50 cents on the dollar)

Trade for a cheaper option like Dedmon to take care of things around the paint

The original post 

In fairness, he's still expecting other people to do the heavy lifting on the offensive end. It's good for him that has worked out with Rozier, Brown, and Tatum. Heck, even Brad said we can't expect him to carry the team on his back offensively on a regular basis.

KG couldn't carry the Celts on offense on a regular basis, either.  He was worth a max deal, right?

Would you have given a max deal to Ben Wallace when he was in his prime?

Is Draymond Green worth a max deal?


I think a person's answers to questions like that say a lot about how they see the game of basketball.

[kozlodoev]

7 pts tonight.  Previously 2 other duds. Overall just not cutting it

He is expecting Kyrie to do most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end. Plus has been plain average on defense

What to do with this guy?  Maybe its time to consider trading him (and eat 50 cents on the dollar)

Trade for a cheaper option like Dedmon to take care of things around the paint

The original post 

In fairness, he's still expecting other people to do the heavy lifting on the offensive end. It's good for him that has worked out with Rozier, Brown, and Tatum. Heck, even Brad said we can't expect him to carry the team on his back offensively on a regular basis.

KG couldn't carry the Celts on offense on a regular basis, either.  He was worth a max deal, right?

Would you have given a max deal to Ben Wallace when he was in his prime?

Is Draymond Green worth a max deal?


I think a person's answers to questions like that say a lot about how they see the game of basketball.

You're kidding, right? Let's just say you probably want to think about that again.

[csfansince60s]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

And $70 mil to ET.... that guy hit the lottery!

[kozlodoev]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

And $70 mil to ET.... that guy hit the lottery!

I'll give this to Brad, he has his way of making somewhat competent veterans look like allstars...

[HomerSapien]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

Incidentally, I don't think Jrue Holiday's contract is that bad. I'd much rather pay Holiday that money than, say, fork over the Supermax that Washington will be paying John Wall.

[kozlodoev]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

Incidentally, I don't think Jrue Holiday's contract is that bad. I'd much rather pay Holiday that money than, say, fork over the Supermax that Washington will be paying John Wall.

It all depends on whether you think his recent heroics are sustainable or just a flash in the pan.

[footey]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list. 

Play station bloggers get confused by that.

Tp....good post about the relative “worth” of players and their contracts.

 I am looking forward to the day when I see playoff Al with a big smile on his face hoisting Larry O’Brien......That would be really cool, he deserves it!

My smile will be just as big, 60's!!

[gouki88]

We signed Al because we had the cap space to do it, he was the best available FA after KD, and he fit perfectly into our system.  Asking whether a player is "worth" a max deal or not is an intersection of need and opportunity; it has nothing to do with how they rank on some statistical list.

Yes, need and opportunity, that's how you end up giving $125 million to Jrue Holiday.

Incidentally, I don't think Jrue Holiday's contract is that bad. I'd much rather pay Holiday that money than, say, fork over the Supermax that Washington will be paying John Wall.

It all depends on whether you think his recent heroics are sustainable or just a flash in the pan.

He did average 19/6/4.5 shooting nearly 50% from the field all the while playing All-team defence. I'd say he's been worth the deal