BOSTON — The passion visible in Al Horford’s face reacting to the Celtics’ big moments serves as good of a reminder as any how much he still loves basketball at 38. Even into his 18th season following a championship and relative demotion in Boston’s offensive hierarchy. When a reporter brought up Derrick White’s alley-oop to Luke Kornet, pull-up three and floater that separated the Celtics late over the Nuggets, 106-99, Horford lit up.
“Talk about the guy that saves the day for us time and time again,” Horford said with a smile on his face. “When we needed a basket, he gets a 50-50 ball and puts it up and just finds a way. He’s just a winner … we’re very, very lucky to have him here.”
The Celtics could say the same for Horford despite his stat sheet flashing some of the lowest counting stats of his career. His 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game mark lows in both categories while his passing only reached lower than 1.9 APG in his rookie season. He’s shooting 40.8% from the field and 36.1% from three. Those numbers reflect his step back to the bench and management in line with last season. He’s rested 13 times already, one of them outside of the back-to-backs where he normally catches a breather.
Yet with Kristaps Porziņģis out for the third time in one week with an illness, Horford started, scored 19 points in 35 minutes, grabbed eight rebounds and recorded three steals while shooting 7-for-12. All while guarding Nikola Jokić in the win, who finished 6-for-9 against him over nearly nine minutes and 41 possessions.
“I just like to compete, it comes down to that,” Horford said.
“It gives our team another layer of versatility, it allows us to do more things on the defensive end, but tonight, I needed the help. Jokić, that dude is unreal, but for me to be able to handle the matchups, I feel like it unlocks our team. We can do a lot of different things, we can switch if we need to. I had to switch onto Jamal, he hit a three, so after that, I had to get up into him, so we changed the coverage, or if I have to stay on that matchup and recover to him, do that as well. For me, it’s just that versatility … being able to switch from one thing to another when it’s called.”
The biggest matchups bring the best out of Horford, who clearly knows how to pace himself through a long season at this point in his career so that when the team truly needs him, he can provide productivity that reminds you of his prime. His uptick in play, when it appears, provides a massive lift for the team. His defense appears more consistently than the scoring outbreaks though, and he gives the Celtics what they need with Porziņģis available and his minutes increasingly shifted to the four. There, Boston needs him to draw defenders, move the ball, rebound and defend the perimeter. But more so at this point, he has to energize the players around him.
That happened midway through the first quarter when he chased a rebound out-of-bounds near the Celtics bench following a missed three by White. It only led to another miss by Jaylen Brown, but those plays always capture Joe Mazzulla’s attention. Horford missed a shot at the rim shortly after, probably where he’s lost the most efficiency, but landed a long two several plays later that literally boosted Boston a few minutes later when officials overturned it to a three.
“You take a look at his stat sheet, it doesn’t always show what he does for us,” Mazzulla said. “Most of what he does can’t be measured. He has the innate ability to impact the game in so many different ways. He’s one of the best players in the league at guarding the other best players in the league, no matter the position that they have. He was just elite tonight on the defensive end of the floor with his positioning, his communication, his physicality, his rebounding. It was amazing to watch.”
A pair of scoring plays inside from Horford, including a rare post-up on Zeke Nnaji, previewed a special scoring night from the veteran. Though only his scoring came in below his standards, the Nuggets didn’t win Jokić’s minutes while he shot 9-for-15, grabbed 14 rebounds and served nine assists. That stressed the Celtics’ ability to limit the other players, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun catching fire into the second half to combine for 50 points. But Boston stressed Denver’s defense, attacking behind Jokić’s willingness to play up on defense. That freed even Horford for six baskets inside on eight attempts. Some came on the run, including one sprinting alongside Brown, who later teased Horford for not dunking, but excused it because he has five kids.
Evan Mobley bothered Horford at the start of the fourth on Friday with his high finishes over him, but finished their four games against each other 3-for-10 when guarded by Horford, who’s consistently defended him tough through his first four seasons. It’s a major reason Mobley has only scored fewer points per game against Phoenix than Boston. Josh Hart went 6-for-14 trying to attack Horford. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s long struggled against Horford, could only manage 20-for-45 (44.4%) efficiency from the field against him despite Horford logging over 20 minutes on him.
The switches onto guards don’t always look pretty. Some of the league’s fastest young players will try to get a step on him, and often will. Against Victor Wembanyama last month, who shot 5-for-10 between their two matchups, Wembanyama practically strolled by him on the way to a layup that Horford could do nothing about. But he makes it difficult, and allowing 46.3% shooting to opponents puts him in the same neighborhood as Jayson Tatum, while guarding more shots per game. That’s in line with his defense from last year.
And when the playoffs came around — as he does — Horford ramped it up and held opponents to 44.7% FG.
“I take pride in that,” Horford said. “Being there for my team, being there to do whatever has to be done to win and I really just relish these moments and these types of games.”
Earlier in the week, Horford visited Jamaica Plain for a Celtics community event at Curtis Hall, where the team has refurbished a basketball court and held several gatherings in recent years. There, they hosted a panel on women’s history month and Horford spoke about fatherhood, his four daughters and inevitably needing to help with homework when he returned home afterward.
The Celtics’ games have become family gatherings for Horford, especially into the playoffs when his wider circle converges on Boston. On a Sunday in early March, his son Ean joined him on the floor to rebound and pass him the ball pre-game. He often hands out towels along the bench during the game, then the rest of the family greets him in the tunnel after. The NBA travel schedule pulls him away from them at times, a longer, further six-game trip looms later this month, but he’s been able to balance his beloved family life with his continued passion for playing.
Two years ago, family members told CLNS Media that while he’d love to spend more time with his growing children eventually, Horford wants to play for as long as he physically can. He never considered retirement following his long-coveted championship in June, and though he’ll need a new contract this summer, Horford appears poised to become one of the league’s greatest luxuries into his 40s. A mainstay locker room presence who can still provide a massive boost on the floor. Just nine months ago, he played center for nearly all of the team’s title run with Porziņģis injured.
“For me, my wife Amelia is my biggest supporter and the reason why I’m able to still go out and compete and play and do everything that I do,” Horford said. “She’s always encouraging me. She does amazing taking care of our kids and our family and holding it all down for me. So that gives me the ability to go out and do what I do and work. It’s something that, I couldn’t be in the position I’m in if she wasn’t on board, if she wasn’t willing to go through this me. So it’s been pretty cool for us to be able to go through this, knowing I have her support.”
