When Al Horford went down with a torn pectoral muscle and was declared out for the rest of the season before the new year, the Hawks were 18-14 and sitting in third in the East.
Atlanta was dreadful after that point, barely holding onto the eight-seed to avoid falling out of the playoffs. However, hope was injected back into the franchise with their near upset of top-seeded Indiana in the first round, and with the East weak again, the Hawks are hoping to climb to a higher seed.
In order to make that a reality, Horford is going to have to stay healthy. The Hawks have a short front line with Paul Millsap (6'8") joining Horford (6'9") in the middle, though it proved to work thanks to the physical toughness and rebounding prowess of both players. They did bolster their post rotation by drafting Adreian Payne from Michigan State, but Elton Brand, Pero Antic, and Mike Scott are still expected to play key roles.
Yet where Horford projects to help Atlanta the most is with their offense. Head coach Mike Budenholzer had to rely on Jeff Teague and Millsap to generate an abundance of the offense (with a little help from Kyle Korver here and there), and they struggled as a result.
Teague and Millsap are better as secondary offensive options as they don't have the skills necessary to carry an offense. Horford does and has proven so in the past, operating out of the high post.
The chances of Atlanta competing for the Eastern championship is slim, but with Horford healthy, they have a chance to be one of the better teams in the muddled middle of the conference.
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