Al Horford. If you missed the game, that’s pretty much all you need to know. El Jefe notched the first triple double of his career last night going 21/10/10 on 80% shooting (which is insanely difficult to do) and going 5-6 from FT. It was a signature performance in a game that wasn’t really as simple as it could have been considering the fact that Teague, Carroll, and Millsap were resting; a strategy Coach Bud tore straight out of the Spurs playbook.

Resting 3 starters allowed players like Kent Bazemore and Shelvin Mack to get more run off the bench. Bazemore scored a career high 17 (3-6 from 3 pt. land) and Mack managed to get a double-double (12 pts, 10 ast), both coming off the bench. Muscala got the start and played adequately, pulling down 9 boards. Even Adreian Payne managed to play a little under 5 minutes. The most important thing, other than getting the W, was that only 1 player played over 30 minutes, and that was Thabo Sefelosha.

Overall, it was a decent game, the type of game that true winning teams play. Other than career performances by Al Horford and Kent Bazemore, the rest of the team played well and proved that even without 3 starters, we can still take care of business on the road. Looking ahead, we’re away at Boston tonight, and it looks like Coach Bud might choose to rest Horford and Korver in preparation for Toronto and Chicago on Friday and Saturday.

Team Stats:

48% FG, 52% 3P, 56% FT

47 REB, 34 AST, 16 TO

Coming Up:

@BOS (1/14), @TOR (1/16), @CHI (1/17)

Please comment with thoughts or suggestions!

Tony Papadopoulos (@Whos_Your_Papa)