This just in: I think Al Horford should win NBA Rookie of the Year. Nothing he has done of late dissuades me from this notion, as he continues to pile up double-doubles against some of the best frontlines in the NBA (witness last night's 14 and 11 against Kevin Garnett and the Celtics).

The NBA helped his cause a bit today, naming Horford Rookie of the Month for February on Monday, the second time Big Al has taken home the honor this season.

Let's take a quick glance at some of Horford's performances in February:

- 15 points, 20 rebounds in a win over the Lakers on Feb. 6 (the first 20-rebound performance for a Hawk since Alan Henderson in 2002)
- a career-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds in a win over the Knicks on Feb. 29
- 12 points, 13 boards against the defending champion Spurs on Feb. 25

Not that it counts officially, but he also put up 19 points and 7 boards in the Rookie-Sophomore game during All-Star Weekend as well.

I talked to Steve Smith today in the BasketBlog Weekly Podcast, and he said this is usually the time of year when rookies begin to hit the proverbial wall (most college players participate in 30-40 games a season and rarely more than two in a given week). So far, Horford seems to be unaffected, with an active streak of four-straight double-doubles going into Tuesday night's game against Golden State.

Horford is the man, and as the Hawks continue to be players in the Eastern Conference playoff race, I think he will garner more and more attention for his performance.

Congrats again to Horford for the award, and here's to adding some more hardware to his mantle before all is said and done.