With the NBA All-Star break about a month away, it looks like former Gator and current Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford has the best chance to play in the All-Star Game when it’s held in Toronto on Feb. 14.
Horford has been dominant since the New Year started. In four January games, he is averaging 19.3 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.
On Jan. 9 against the Chicago Bulls, the 6-foot-10, 245 pound center scored a season-high 33 points on 15-of-21 shooting. Horford’s 10 rebounds in that game gave him his 10th double-double of the season. Horford and the Hawks will be in action tonight when Atlanta (23-15) faces off against the Charlotte Hornets.
Joakim Noah returns:
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah returned to the Bulls’ lineup for the first time in almost a month since he suffered a slight tear in his left shoulder. On Monday, the Bulls squared off against the Washington Wizards and lost 114-100.
Noah struggled shooting the ball, going scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting from the field in 19 minutes, but grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists.
Against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, Noah played 15 minutes and had three points on 1-of-3 shooting, and seven rebounds in a 106-101 loss.
Parsons struggling with consistency:
Dallas forward Chandler Parsons’ performance has been up-and-down this year for the Mavericks.
After averaging 15.7 points per game last season, he is posting an average of just 9.3 in 2015-2016.
In addition, Parsons’ 3.6 rebounds and 0.4 steals per game are the worst of his career.
In six January contests prior to Tuesday night’s game against Cleveland Cavaliers, Parsons has had only three games where he’s scored at least 10 points, scoring just six, three and four points in the other three games.
On Tuesday night against the Cavaliers, Parsons had his fourth January game with at least 10 points when he scored a season-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting in a 110-107 overtime loss.
Parsons will look to sustain Tuesday’s performance when the Mavericks face Oklahoma City tonight at 8 p.m.
Beal hopeful to return this week:
According to a story in the Washington Post, Wizards guard Bradley Beal said he’s hopeful he can return sometime this week — either on Friday or Saturday — from a stress reaction in his right fibula that’s kept him out since Dec. 11.
The shooting guard has missed 16 games — the Wizards are 8-8 in his absence — with the injury, the fourth stress reaction he’s had in his fibula since he entered the NBA four years ago. Beal leads Washington in scoring, averaging a career-high 19.8 points per game while shooting 38.9 percent from three.
On Friday and Saturday, the Wizards will face the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics, respectively.
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) scores against Chicago Bulls center Pau Gasol (16) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Atlanta. Atlanta won 120-105. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
