Celtics, Joe Mazzulla in awe of ‘old reliable’ Al Horford’s performance in win vs. Lakers
"I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s a future Hall of Famer. I get to watch this for free.’"
The Celtics have very few weak spots defensively, but LeBron James and Luka Doncic tried to make Al Horford one on Saturday night. That plan failed.
Horford was stout in his defensive efforts against the two Lakers stars in the Celtics’ 111-101 win on Saturday night. James and Doncic shot just 3 of 14 when they isolated the Celtics’ big, via ESPN Stats & Info. Los Angeles’ gameplan was seemingly focused on hunting out Horford as well, recording 23 isolations against him. That’s the second-most isolations recorded against an opposing player in a game since at least the 2013-14 season, according to Second Spectrum. He also finished with three steals and a block, closing passing and shooting lanes throughout the night.
It’s not necessarily a surprise that Horford played so well defensively on Saturday night. He’s been a key reason for why Boston’s had one of the league’s best defenses over the last four years. But the fact that he was able to slow down two of the league’s best scorers while playing a season-high 37 minutes at 38 years old left his coach and teammates in awe.
“I think one, it motivates him,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters of other teams attempting to pick on Al Horford defensively. “I think when people do it, it motivates him. I got to watch five possessions of him defending at a high level, and at one point, I wasn’t coaching. I was just watching him, and I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s a future Hall of Famer. I get to watch this for free.’
“You have to be able to have that perspective. So I think he was motivated by that, and he’s just an innate competitor, and it inspires our team.”
While Horford shined defensively on Saturday, his offensive efforts were also key with Kristaps Porzingis out of the lineup for a fifth-straight game due to an illness. He scored 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting, dishing out four assists and often swung the ball along the perimeter for a hockey assist.
As Horford has averaged 8.9 points with a plus-11 net rating (the second-highest on the team) in the 36 games he’s started this season, Jaylen Brown knows that the Celtics can count on their veteran to step up.
“Al is just old reliable,” Brown told reporters. “He’s just the ultimate connector for us on both ends. Hits timely shots, uses his intelligence, his basketball IQ to put the team into a tough spot. Took advantage of those tough matchups when they tried to switch him, and on defense, he was battling with LeBron. He was rebounding.
“So, he’s huge for us, and we just want to keep him healthy and continue to just make it easy for him. We need him ready to go in the playoffs.”
As Brown alluded to, what Horford did on Saturday isn’t new. In fact, he did it last season in the playoffs, stepping up when Porzingis missed the majority of he final three rounds of the postseason. He was often matched up against one of the Celtics’ playoff opponents’ top scorers, slowing the majority of them down. That included Doncic, who shot just 32.1 percent from the field when Horford was the primary defender on him in the Celtics’ NBA Finals win.
Lakers coach JJ Redick seemed to call out his team for their constant efforts to pick on Horford in Saturday’s game. He told reporters that during Boston’s 29-13 stretch in the third quarter, he “would call a play and we wouldn’t actually run the play.”
“It was just out of character, and that got us stagnated,” Redick said.
Jayson Tatum, who scored a game-high 40 points in the win, certainly didn’t feel that Horford’s effort on Saturday was out of character, once again calling him his favorite teammate ever.
“Al is one of a kind,” Tatum said. “He’s the anchor to our defense and the heart and soul of our team. He keeps us emotionally steady. The things that he’s able to provide in Year 18 is remarkable. I don’t think that gets talked about enough, being an intricate part of a championship team in Year 18. We wouldn’t be who we are without him.”
Saturday’s game marked the second time in a week that Horford showed out against a fellow NBA contender. He scored 19 points and put up a strong defensive effort against Nikola Jokic in the Celtics’ win over the Nuggets last Sunday.
The Celtics will take on the Thunder on Wednesday in another matchup that could be billed as a Finals preview. Horford called this stretch of games “good” for the Celtics, and he’s willing to do the little things to make sure his team wins those battles.
“For me, it’s just trying to find a way to have an impact,” Horford said. “These types of games always come down to those little details and defending and rebounding, and that’s right up my alley. That’s what I [like] to do.
“I was excited to be in this position, and that’s my mindset in these games. It’s always been, like, playing winning basketball. That’s what I want to do.”
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