Courtesy of AtlantaHawks.com
ATLANTA, GA -- For the second straight season, the Atlanta Hawks will have two players on the All-Star team, as the NBA announced this evening that guard Joe Johnson and center Al Horford have been named as reserves to the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star squad. The game takes place on Sunday, February 20 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA, with coverage on TNT and ESPN Radio beginning at 7 p.m.
"It means a great deal to me to be selected as an All-Star again," said Johnson. "I can't thank my coaches and teammates, as well as the organization, enough for helping to put me in this position."
Averaging 20.6 ppg, 5.5 apg and 4.2 rpg (.450 FG%, .806 FT%) in 40 starts, Johnson is the first Hawk to reach five consecutive All-Star games since Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins was named to nine straight All-Star games from 1986-94. A 10-year veteran, Johnson ranks 12th in the NBA in assist/turnover ratio (2.93) and leads the team in ppg, apg and FGM. He has returned to his All-Star level after missing nine games earlier this season due to right elbow surgery, and produced an outstanding month of January performances by averaging 26.0 ppg (fourth in the NBA), while shooting .504 FG% (averaging over 10 made FGs per game), .354 3FG% and .823 FT%.
"I'm thrilled to be going back to the All-Star Game and I am proud to represent the entire Atlanta Hawks organization," Horford said. "Last year was an unbelievable experience and it's an honor for me to be selected again."
In his fourth season, Horford has started 47 contests, and is averaging 16.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.6 apg and 1.1 bpg (.567 FG%, .813 FT%). One of the top all-around rebounders in the league, the Hawks center ranks seventh in rpg, tied for fifth in def. rpg (7.3) and tied for 19th in off. rpg (2.5). He is also fifth in the NBA in FG% and tied for 25th in bpg, while recording 24 double-doubles (seventh in the league). Horford has been a part of All-Star weekend each of his four years, participating in the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam in 2008 and 2009, before playing in his first NBA All-Star game last season.
