In his latest look at the 2008 rookie class (Insider required) David Thorpe passed along how impressed he was by Al Horford's play against Carlos Boozer in a recent game. In doing so Thorpe wrote the following:
"There are games when I wonder if Big Al will ever be a true nightly scoring threat. This was not one of those nights."
Big Al? I realize Al Jefferson is playing in Minnesota. But contrary to popular belief the Timberwolves are part of the NBA. Just as the Celtics were last year when they staggered to 24 wins. More importantly Jefferson clearly staked his claim to the "Big Al" moniker with his stellar play during that ill-fated 2007 season. Granted this is not as egregious as someone calling Vince Carter "The Truth" or Dwight Howard "The Big Aristotle". Admittedly this is more like numerous people with the last name of Murphy or Sulllivan going as Murph and Sully respectively. Regardless we need to figure this out. If I'm watching a Timberwolves/Hawks game on NBA TV I hope that Jefferson and Jefferson alone is referred to as "Big Al". Maybe I'm alone here though.