In Celtics debut, Al Horford provides a performance in full
Center's versatility is on display in opening-night victory over the Nets
COMMENTARY
Even on nights that aren’t the first of a highly anticipated new season, the basketball crowd at TD Garden is an uncommonly knowledgeable and engaged bunch. In the nine seasons since Kevin Garnett united with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to begin a new era of success here, there has not been a better regular-season fan experience in Boston sports than a quality Celtics game. (Says who? Says me.) It’s a crowd that appreciates the subtle along with the flashy and the obvious, a crowd that collectively has the wits to appreciate when a player’s value and impact exceeds his statistics.
Those among us whose familiarity with Al Horford runs deeper than his decent but hardly electric turn in the Hawks’ six-game playoff victory over the Celtics last season knew he would have enormous appeal to this crowd. Signed away from the Hawks in the offseason to a five-year, $113 million contract, Horford has long been a quintessential winning player, dating to his championship days alongside Joakim Noah at Florida, even if he hasn’t yet played for a championship NBA team.
He is exactly what the upward-trending Celtics, winners of 48 regular-season games but just one playoff game a season ago, needed: A selfless, well-rounded center that fits perfectly into their on-court style and off-court culture. He is a huge next step in their ascent.
One game in, he’s already en route to proving his informed believers correct. In his Celtics debut last night, Horford looked like he’d been operating in Brad Stevens’s offense for years. Horford filled out the box score in the Celtics’ closer-than-it-should-have-been 122-117 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, totaling 11 points (on 5-of-8 shooting), 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks, with a plus-minus of plus-13 in 27 minutes of playing time.
This well-rounded performance should have come as a surprise to precisely no one, at least among those of us who could pick a basketball out of a lineup of sporting goods. In fact, the effort was greatly anticipated before it was ever fulfilled, which is why Horford, the best prime-of-career free-agent the franchise has ever signed, received the loudest and most prolonged cheer of any Celtic during the pregame introductions. Everyone loves the new kid in town – but in this case, that was because everyone knew exactly what he was capable of doing. He might be new around here, but he’s already familiar.
Let the record show that Horford’s first points as a Celtic came at 10:34 of the first quarter of his debut, a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Horford’s shot is never going to be confused for, say, Klay Thompson’s aesthetically – in his new green uniform, his methodical, angular shooting form is reminiscent of a praying mantis unfolding from a nap – but it’s nevertheless effective, not to mention a relatively new and telling addition to his evolving game. His extended range is confirmation that even as an established player, a four-time All-Star, he continues to work and accentuate his game.
But Horford’s most impressive contribution Wednesday night had little to do with his own shot. It was refreshing to see how helpful he was in making sure his own teammates got their shots, the primary benefactors being Jae Crowder (21 points, three 3-pointers) and Avery Bradley (17 points, three 3-pointers). He finished second only to point guard Isaiah Thomas (game-high 25 points) in assists with 6, and his ability to handle the ball on the wing and find open teammates in the corners may have been a pleasant surprise to those expecting a conventional butt-on-the-block center.
The prototypical Horford assist, one we could and should get used to seeing, came with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. Hemmed into the corner, he faked a 3, took one strong (and yes, mantis-like) dribble toward the lane, then fired the ball to Bradley on the opposite wing. Bradley knocked down the 3. A center who creates shots for others? Tell me more. No, sports fans, Jared Sullinger was never this kind of facilitator.
For a time, it seemed Horford would not be required to put in a full night’s work. The Nets, who due to a certain lopsided trade have Celtics fans hoping they lose nearly as passionately as they hope their own team wins, appeared for three quarters to be the ideal matchup for a team searching for good times on opening night. They may not be terrible – with center Brook Lopez and veterans Jeremy Lin, Trevor Booker, and Luis Scola, they’re at least a professional operation – but they will not be anything resembling good. They’re not the team you’re buddy is going to pick in NBA 2K17, you know?
So it was that when the Celtics pulled away with a 33-point third quarter, taking a 97-81 lead into the fourth, it seemed to be all over save for perhaps a few punctuating highlights from the likes of Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. But it was not. Horford, along with Thomas and Crowder, sat out at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and it looked as though their night was done. But the Nets whittled away at the lead, then whittled away some more, and so Horford and the other Celtics upperclassmen were required to check back in with 2 minutes and 7 seconds remaining and the lead down to 8 (118-110).
The Celtics starters were required to be the closers, and thus there would be no introduction to Gino Time for the Celtics’ newest star. With 81/82nds of the regular-season schedule remaining, there will be other opportunities to dance before the victory is complete. For now, we’ll have to settle for an impressive first impression from a player who should never have been expected to deliver anything less.
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