BOSTON — Much of the debate surrounding Al Horford’s value to the Boston Celtics centers around what does or (more importantly for the detractors) does not show up on the box score.
But when he delivers a performance like he did Monday night, it’s tough to argue how big of a role he plays for the C’s.
In Boston’s 110-105 victory over the Miami Heat at TD Garden, Horford notched a triple-double, tallying 19 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I mean, it’s big,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said of Horford’s performance. “And I thought that, you know, obviously, he played in the middle of that zone a lot, and I thought when he did we were at out best. But he — I don’t think we can overstate his importance to our team.”
Entering Monday’s game, the Celtics had a -12.9 net rating with Horford not on the floor (h/t The Athletic’s Jay King), and asked after the game what the difference is without the big man, Marcus Smart articulated it pretty clearly.
“Just that spacing, Al is a unique player at that position just for the simple fact cause he shoots the ball really well and he’s not your typical big man where he just sits in the paint,” Smart said. “He can step out and really, really, really stretch out the defense. So when he’s not out there teams can just sit in the paint, and it’s hard because they clog it up for us.
“It was ecstatic for us to see Al (get his triple-double),” Smart said. “Great guy, great player, great teammate, he does everything right. And he’s a winner, so he deserves every accolade, every award and every mention of his name. Like I said, we’re real happy for him.”
For Horford, who has come close to a triple-double a few times this season, it felt good to reach that threshold for the first time this campaign (and second of his career).
“It feels good,” Horford said. “It is definitely good, it has been a lot of games like that. I looked over at my wife and she was like, ‘You better get it,’ when I rebounded one she kept looking at me. I was like “I got you, I got you,’ but I just tried to continue to play the right way and I am glad it worked out in my favor and obviously we got the win.”
Here are some other notes from Monday’s Heat-Celtics game:
— Gordon Hayward provided 11 points in Monday’s win, shooting 4-for-7 from the field.
Although the stat lines are modest, Hayward currently is playing some of his most consistent basketball of the season. He’s tallied double-figure scoring in five straight games, which is a season high. In that stretch, he’s averaging 13.8 points on 53.1 % shooting.
While Hayward hasn’t really been his old self all season, the Celtics certainly are benefitting from this kind of consistency.
— Kyrie Irving had a team-high 25-points, which is the seventh time in the last eight games he’s reached at least 25 points.
— In the battle for home-court advantage in their almost certain first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics currently control their own destiny. They got off to a good start with Monday’s win, as both they and the Pacers now have 46-32 records, however the Celtics own fourth place since they control the tiebreaker between the two sides.
