ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 22: Al Horford #15 and Zaza Pachulia #27 of the Atlanta Hawks battle for a rebound against Ryan Anderson #33 of the Orlando Magic during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena on April 22, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Al Horford had hoped to give the Atlanta Hawks a boost in the playoffs.
Now he knows that won't be possible, at least not in the opening round.
The All-Star center said Wednesday he's definitely out for the best-of-seven series against Boston, which begins this weekend. The Hawks will get home-court if they win their regular-season finale against Dallas, or if the Celtics lose their last game to Milwaukee.
"You obviously want to be there for your team and try to help them," Horford said after taking some shots on his own at the Philips Arena practice court. "But I realized I'm not nearly where I need to be or want to be to give the team anything."
Horford, one of Atlanta's key players along with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, has missed most of the season recovering from surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle. The team has persevered without him, going into its final game clinging to the fourth-best record in the East.
All along, though, the Hawks held out hope that Horford might be healthy enough to give the team a boost in the playoffs. He was especially eager to return after his replacement, Zaza Pachulia, went down a couple of weeks ago with a sprained left foot, casting doubt on whether he'll be able to go in the playoffs.
http://www.nba.com/2012/news/04/25/hawks-horford.ap/index.html
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