Al Horford left the Boston Celtics during the offseason. The veteran big man was an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year, $11.6 million deal with the Golden State Warriors. However, he has struggled to find his footing within Steve Kerr’s rotation during the opening two months of the season.
Horford has missed the last seven games leading up to the Warriors’ Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks. He has been dealing with sciatica. After he was cleared to play, Horford found himself back in Kerr’s rotation and produced the best game of his Warriors career so far.
The veteran big man ended the night with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 11 minutes of playing time. He shot 4-of-6 from deep and went 5-of-7 overall. His presence off the bench, both defensively and offensively, gave Golden State a spark that Celtics fans are all too familiar with.
Horford is the ideal veteran. He doesn’t dominate touches, rarely gets sped up by opposing defenders and understands how to control angles on defense, allowing him to be a highly impactful defender despite his advancing age.
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Unfortunately for the Celtics, Horford wasn’t the only big man to walk through the exit door this summer. Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis are both suiting up for new teams. That’s left somewhat of a gap in Boston’s big man rotation, which is why Joe Mazzulla has leaned on a small-ball rotation with his second unit this season.
Fortunately for Mazzulla’s team, Luka Garza has stepped up in the last two games, making a huge impact on the offensive glass and serving as a shot deterrent in the paint. The issue is that his defensive limitations are a concern, especially if the Celtics have plans to make a deep postseason run.
Sooner or later, Brad Stevens likely will address that gap in the depth chart by adding another big man. Still, Boston will find it difficult to replace what Horford brings to the table. And now, after a rocky start to life in the Bay Area, the Warriors appear poised to reap the reward of acquiring Horford this summer.
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Featured image via David Gonzales/Imagn Images
