Durant, Horford defying Father Time
PHOENIX — Just 13 teams averaged more than 100 points per game during the 2007-08 NBA season. This year, all 30 are averaging at least 105. The pace, style, and skill levels have increased over the last 17 years, and today’s game hardly resembles that one.
On Saturday night, two of the top three picks from the 2007 NBA draft squared off when the Celtics beat the Suns, 117-107. And even though 17 years have passed, neither Kevin Durant nor Al Horford are close to being relics.
Durant, who was selected No. 2 overall by the Seattle SuperSonics, remains near the top of his game. Against the Celtics he made 18 of 26 shots and tallied 45 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Horford, who was chosen by the Hawks with the third pick, registered 9 points and 12 rebounds and drained the gameclinching 3-pointer in the final minutes.
For Horford, it is hard to believe that so much time has passed since he and Durant entered the NBA. But it’s comforting to look at the opponent and see another familiar face from his draft class continuing to thrive.
“Man, it’s pretty unbelievable,” Horford said after the game. “I’m very blessed to be in this position and [it’s] just impressive how he continues to just find ways to improve and find ways to get better. KD, he was on tonight. It was really, really tough. But I really take these moments — I don’t take them for granted. They’re special.”
Horford, who turns 38 in June, was quick to point out that Suns forward Thaddeus Young, the 12th pick in the 2007 draft, was on the bench
on Saturday, too.
Horford said he and Durant worked out together in Seattle for about a week leading up to the 2007 draft. Horford had helped Florida to its second consecutive national championship as a junior, and Durant had finished a sparkling freshman season at Texas.
It did not take Horford long to see that the player he had admired from afar had the tools to become a force at the highest level.
“I just remember watching him do individual workouts on the court, and I’m like,
‘Man, this guy is this tall and shooting it like that and moving in this way?’ ” Horford said. “Just so talented. So that’s something that I remember fondly.”
Durant is skinny now and was even skinnier back then, so Horford quipped that the
Suns star would probably not want to talk about the weighttraining sessions they completed together.
“But those were moments that we’re trying to figure out what it’s like being a professional, what it takes to work, and things like that,” Horford said. “On the court, he was way ahead of everybody and it was fun to watch him work.
And yeah, so the Seattle experience, it was nice to be up there with him.”
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum played 42 minutes, 16 seconds Saturday night, his second-highest total in regulation this season. His route to that point was certainly unusual.
Through three quarters Tatum was 6 for 18 from the field, with two turnovers and just one free throw attempt. He typically plays the entire third quarter before sitting out the first few minutes of the fourth.
But in this case, he asked coach Joe Mazzulla if he could stay in. He wanted to play the entire fourth quarter. Mazzulla said yes.
“We have free-flowing conversation about his sub pattern throughout the game, depending on how it’s going,” Mazzulla said. “I liked his defensive presence and I liked that he took ownership to be able to do that. So he felt like it was best to be able to stay in, so we did it.”
In the fourth quarter, Tatum made 5 of 10 shots and scored 13 of his team-high 29 points. It may seem surprising to see him pushed to the limit in a game that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but the Celtics like to give their stars occasional high-minute nights so they will feel familiar when the playoffs arrive.
Regardless, Tatum said he appreciates being able to have such open dialogue with Mazzulla over the course of the game.
“It’s not like I do it all the time,” Tatum said. “This might’ve been like the second time I’ve done it all season. It’s a feel thing. We trust each other.”