Plenty of tread left on Horford’s tires
Veteran big man sat out half the season for tanking Thunder
Al Horford only played 28 games as a member of the Thunder last season, and once told he was there to mentor his young teammates, he didn’t play at all, sitting out the final 27 games on a team that was in full-out tank mode.
For those wondering what Horford has left as he returns to the Celtics following a two-year gap, that prolonged rest preserved however many miles are left on the 35-year-old’s odometer.
Inserted back into the Celtics lineup, Horford becomes the pure distributor his new/old team has lacked since the departure of Gordon Hayward or, maybe, himself. He shot 36.8% from 3-point range while averaging the most downtown attempts (5.4) of his career, so when Horford did indeed play, he was true to form.
“Al can move the needle,” Brad Stevens said earlier this week. “Al had a good year in Oklahoma City. Obviously didn’t play a ton of games, but statistically had a year that obviously applies across the board.
“I think the ability to space, pass, play in different ways and play in different coverages at the other end, be able to play with other bigs or as the lone five — he just has a wealth of experience,” said Horford’s former coach, who is now his president of basketball operations. “So yeah, that played a role (in the trade). It was really important to create a clear road ahead from the standpoint of financial flexibility. And then when you have the opportunity to bring back a player, person the caliber of Al Horford, who’s really excited to be here, it was something that we needed to move on.”
Horford will also resume his mentorship of Robert Williams, who has progressed so much since they worked together, they will likely now start alongside each other.
“It was probably bittersweet for Rob, right?” Stevens said of losing one teammate in Walker and getting another back in Horford. “Because you have a person that you really love and enjoy playing with and has had a great impact on you in Kemba, to a person you learn from and took you under his wing when he first got here.
“Rob is a guy that really wants to be good. He is a listener — he wants to improve. He’ll lean on every word Al says, obviously,” he said. “And they can make each other better. With those guys and Tristan (Thompson) and Moses (Brown), and we still have Tacko (Fall) on his contract — we have a lot of decisions to make but also a lot of flexibility. Those guys — you’re talking about some really good players at that position. We’ll see how it all shakes itself out.”
The paint was an issue for the Celtics all season, starting with only marginally successful double-big lineups while Walker was missing the first part of the season, to a shortage of help once Daniel Theis was dealt away at the trade deadline.
Horford’s versatility will transform this mix.
“That just becomes a longer discussion without getting into specifics of can guys play together, can you do the double-big thing with certain groups, are there guys that pair better together,” said Stevens. “I do think, for instance, Tristan’s ability to switch and Tristan’s ability to rebound allows him to play with a spacer like Al, who also has a lot of flexibility. Rob’s ability to play in the dunker and hitting Al in the seams and playing with the lob game gives you flexibility.
“Those are things we’ll have to figure out. That won’t be as much my decision once those times come, once the roster is set. Then I’ll be out of that. Then whoever the coach is can figure out how they want to utilize everybody.”