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Al Horford Praises Lakers Coach Darvin Ham

Hawks fans are still upset about Horford leaving Atlanta.

Pat Benson

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
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Most of the basketball world was happy to see Al Horford finally make it to the NBA Finals. No active player had logged more games without reaching the Finals than the Boston Celtics center. The reason I say most, and not every is because a large swath of Hawks fans are still mad about Horford's exit from Atlanta in 2016.

Not only did the Hawks lose Horford, but eventually, their 60-win juggernaut fell apart. To make matters worse, they let one of the best coaching staff ever assembled slip away as well. Just this past week, former Hawks assistant coach Darvin Ham was hired to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

As you can see in the tweet above, Horford had nothing but praise for Ham's coaching style when the two worked together in Atlanta. The 35-year-old specifically mentioned Ham's defensive knowledge. 

Ouch - the Hawks ranked in the bottom-five of the league in defensive rating this season. Meanwhile, the teams with the two best defensive ratings in the regular season are preparing to play each other in Game One of the NBA Finals tonight.

Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) hugs teammate guard Jamal Crawford (11) in the final seconds of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 100-88.
Jamal Crawford recently shared the fondest memory from his career / Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Even though most Hawks fans are understandably salty about losing Horford to their rival. They still reminisce on those Hawks teams as some of their favorite squads. If not for LeBron James, they could have easily made it to the NBA Finals.

Luckily, the Hawks have a generational talent in point guard Trae Young. I'm confident that as long as Young is in a Hawks uniform, they will be a championship contender. Stay locked into AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the Atlanta Hawks for Sports Illustrated's All Hawks. He has covered the NBA for several years and is the author of "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)".

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