Golden State’s newest addition in Al Horford is already earning high praise, and not just from inside the Bay Area.
Former Denver Nuggets head coach and current ESPN analyst Michael Malone believes Al Horford’s arrival in San Francisco could be exactly what the Warriors needed to revive their championship-caliber offense.
“They’ve added a proficient three-point shooting big man,” Malone said during ESPN’s NBA Countdown. “Champion, high character, culture — they haven’t had this spacing, one through five, in a long time.”
At 39 years old, Horford remains one of the league’s most reliable stretch bigs.
“The number of wide-open shots that he’s going to get is going to spread out their offense and make a really tough offensive team to guard even that much harder,” Malone added.
Malone’s optimism goes beyond just Horford’s range. The Warriors, who ran only ten total pick-and-rolls involving Curry and a center last season, now have a veteran big perfectly suited for that role.
“Steve Kerr, historically, has not been a big pick-and-roll coach,” Malone noted. “They haven’t had maybe the players… now, you’re adding a guy [in] in the last ten years [who] is one of the most prolific pick-and-pop bigs the game has seen. So, I think this is a match made in heaven. I know Steph Curry has to be really excited.”
After Hordford’s preseason debut. Steph did, in fact, sound excited.
“Obviously, a high-IQ, experienced, championship-caliber player that can really fit with any lineup out there,” Curry said. “He gives us space; he gives us presence on the defensive end. You saw the pass he made to me at the corner, give-and-go. So it’s just kind of unspoken chemistry that will continue to get better. But he is kind of multi-dimensional as a five-man, and excited to see what that looks like for me, for Jimmy, JK, Draymond. And again, any lineup you can throw him out there at the five. He kind of lifts the group.”
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