The Point Forward: Al Horford Interview

Zach Lowe spoke with Al Horford today in Los Angeles:

PF: Let’s talk about on-court stuff. There was a lot of hype earlier in the season about Larry Drew moving away from so many isolations and implementing a new motion-style offense. But how different are things, really, from your perspective? Sometimes I watch you guys, and the offense — the sets and stuff — do look a lot more motion-oriented. But in other games, like against the Knicks before the All-Star break, you tend to isolate more — and in that game, you had good matchups to do it.

Horford: We’re a little bit more of a half-court team this season. Last year we were running more. And I think we need to get out and run more and freelance more. Coach Drew is doing a good job, it’s just that sometimes we tend to get away from running more and the things we do best.

PF: When I hear players say that — that the team is not always doing what it should be doing on offense — I always wonder why that is. Is it because of the coach’s philosophy and play-calling, or are players breaking plays on the court and improvising? Some of both?

Horford: It’s both. A lot of times, we as players get caught up in saying, “Oh, we’ve got a mismatch!” But teams in this league are very good at positional defense. They’ll double team you and front you and really disrupt that mismatch.