Florida Gators alumni Al Horford has been crucial for the Celtics

Gators alumni Al Horford has been crucial to the Celtics taking a 2-0 series lead over the Nets

Many remember Al Horford with the Florida Gators due to him being a part of 2 NCAA Championship teams and being a member of the only team to win two back to back with the same starting five.  Or even him coming in against Ohio State, after being listed as not able to play due to injury, and guarding Greg Oden, holding him to 7 points.  People who purely watch the NBA and not college will know him as a long-time staple in the league who has always consistently been good for whoever he played for.  But now?  He is playing his heart out and doing everything in his power to get this Celtics team deep into the playoffs.

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Game 1 vs Brooklyn Nets

In the opening game of the playoffs, Al Horford showed Celtics fans that he wanted this series no matter what it took, and showed Gators fans flashes of his college form throughout the game.  Horford would play a whopping 41 minutes for the Celtics in game 1, filling the role for an injured Robert Williams.  Williams, who had surgery on a meniscus tear in his knee back in March, was thought to be the Achilles heel of the Celtics as he was their paint defender and inside scorer.  What did Al do?  He proved he can hold his own still at 35 years of age against the big dogs, including Kevin Durant.

Horford would play stout defense on Durant whenever he was on the court and put up a pretty impressive statline on the game, which included:

• 20 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists
• 1 steal, a +8 for +/-, and only 3 personal fouls while guarding KD
• 8/13 shooting (61.5%), 2/2 from 3, 2/2 on free throws

Now, many people who have doubted Horford in recent years would still say that this was just luck and a random game that KD got unlucky in.  This was not the case, as he struck again in game 2.

Game 2 vs Brooklyn Nets

Horford continued to show his capabilities in game 2, where he would hold a similar statline in many places while getting 32 minutes this time instead of 41.  Overall in the game he had:

• 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• 2 steals, 1 block, +11 for +/-, and did foul out of the game (near the end of the 4th)
• 6/10 shooting (60%), 3/6 from 3 (50%), 1/2 on free throws

While his second game may not have been as impressive as the prior, he still played an absolutely crucial role in stopping Kevin Durant.  Durant would have a pretty good points haul, putting up 27 in the game, however, 18 of which came from his 20 free throws in the game from various defenders.  What is worth noting is that he was held to 4/13 from the field, largely due in part to Horford, which prevented Durant from building any true momentum on offense.

While Horford may be overlooked by other teams’ fanbases, as well as Bruce Brown (see quote below), he should not be.  Brown seemingly thought the Celtics would not have anywhere near as much interior defensive presence without Rob Williams, however, Horford has been astounding filling that role and proving Bruce wrong.  With performances like the two he has opened the playoffs with, he should be a threat to any team on both ends of the court, as he has been extremely efficient from the field shooting as well.

"“Now they don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less of a presence in the paint.  We can attack Theis and Horford in the paint. Them not having Robert Williams is huge.”~Bruce Brown"