Al Horford’s rehab is going smoothly

According to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Dr. Xavier Duralde, All-Star center Al Horford‘s rehab is coming along nicely:

"Al Horford has “progressed as expected” in his rehabilitation from a torn right pectoral muscle and should be ready for the start of Hawks training camp in September. However, the Hawks center has officially been ruled out to play for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming FIBA World Cup tournament."

Duralde, who performed surgery on Horford’s torn right pectoral muscle back in December, put out a statement today that talked a bit about how his recovery is going. Vivlamore detailed what Duralde said in his article (linked above):

"“Al is doing very well and has progressed as expected as he rehabilitates his right pectoral muscle,” Duralde said in the statement. “As of his most recent examination, he has only been cleared for spot shooting and light non-contact, on-court activity.“Unfortunately, I do not think he is far enough along that he can play for the Dominican Republic National Team this summer. He remains on schedule to be cleared for full participation to all normal basketball activities at the start of (Hawks) training camp.”"

This is good to see, as Horford is arguably the best player on the Atlanta Hawks’ roster–even with the year Paul Millsap just had. During the playoffs, Horford was sorely missed and likely could have helped propel the Hawks passed the Indiana Pacers and into the second round.

But the priority now (and before the playoffs) is on Horford getting healthy and back to 100 percent on the basketball court. Head coach Mike Budenholzer most definitely has the big man as one of the focal pieces of the Hawks moving forward, and it would be nice to see him Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver on the court together for a full season.

This past season, Horford played in 29 games before going down for the season. He was averaging 33 minutes, 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He was also shooting 56.7 percent from the field, which could have been a new best for him–his career average is 54.1 percent and his highest mark in a full season is 55.7 percent, from the 2010/11 season.