Horford has good range for a big man. More than half of his shots last season (215 of 420) came on jumpers, and he hit on 48.4 percent of them. Paired with another smooth-shooting big in Millsap, who blossomed into an All-Star in 2014, and the Hawks had a potent duo up front. Still, the Hawks didn’t exactly fall off a cliff offensively. Instead, where they most missed Horford’s presence was on defense.
He was easily the best rim protector in the ATL, allowing just 47.8 percent shooting while facing 7.1 attempts per game at the hoop. Antic was the only other big that held opponents under 50 percent, per NBA.com’s player tracking, but didn’t spend anywhere near as much time there, defending just 4.5 shots per game there. In fact, Horford ranked ninth in field goal percentage allowed among all players who faced at least 7.1 attempts per game at the rim, and two of those players appeared in even fewer games than Horford. That’s as good as three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard, and better than DeAndre Jordan.
Despite being undersize for a center, Horford has been manning the middle for Atlanta admirably for several seasons. Horford only played a quarter of the Hawks’ minutes last season, but their defensive rating was five points better (102.7 to 107.6) with him on the floor.
As long as Horford is healthy, the Hawks should see their defense stabilize next season. Sefolosha has had a defensive rating lower than 105 in four of his last five seasons in Oklahoma City. If Teague can find a way to navigate around the defensive end, the Hawks will be in much better shape.
It’s not often that a playoff team gets to add an All-Star into the fold. The Hawks get to do that this coming season. Together with Antic and Millsap, who added a whole new perimeter dynamic to his game that he rarely flashed in Utah, the Hawks have the rare trio of big men who can stretch out a defense. After Teague went nuclear on the Pacers for several games during the playoffs, the Hawks can certainly hope he’ll be improved next season. With the Heat decimated by the loss of LeBron, the Southeast Division is going to be wide open. With a pair of All-Stars, Atlanta will be right there vying for the top.