What’s Fair Is Fair: I Owe Al Horford An Apology
I am a man of honor and integrity before anything else. After the Celtics took down the defending champion Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semis, an apology is owed to a certain someone. What’s fair is fair and I need to be held accountable for it. I owe Al Horford an apology because the truth of the matter is, the Celtics would be at home if they never reacquired him this offseason.
What’s fair is fair. I’ve had a lot of bad things to say about Horford in the past. All of them are probably true, in reality. Horford stunk with the 76ers and was always a horrific fit with their franchise. He also can’t jump or rebound to save his life. I stand by all of it (except for maybe the part where I said Enes Kanter was better than him. I went too far there and I let my emotions get the best of me).
Okay, I stand by a lot of it. In reality, Horford is overpaid and makes me want to tear my eyes out watching him rebound the ball. I still got it wrong. Horford has actually been a contributing part of this Celtics team that could very well win the title. Horford is far from washed. He’s a real player that can score the ball, defend at an adequate level, and became the veteran presence this team needed to right the ship.
More so than anything, that guy cares and you can’t put a price tag on that in the modern NBA. All the losers who don’t give a shit like James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons are at home for a reason.
Horford is obviously aging. His 10.2 points per game this season was the lowest of his NBA career excluding his rookie campaign. The stats don’t really tell the story. He’s just been a great leader for this team, made key defensive stops when it’s mattered, and stretched the floor making the Celtics increasingly difficult to defense.
Horford is doing it on both ends this postseason. Horford had nine blocks in the series against Milwaukee and Boston needed every single one of them with Robert Williams out of the lineup. He’s also shooting over 45% from 3-point range adding a scoring punch and providing spacing as a big body that can knock down shots.
Has Horford been perfect? God no. His vertical jump is probably the same as a three month old baby that hasn’t figured out how to walk yet. What’s fair is fair. At this point, the decision to reacquire Horford for the poo poo platter of Kemba Walker and the 16th overall pick seems like a home run. It’s a decision that could easily prove to be what wins the Celtics Banner 18 and Horford deserves his respect for this playoff run.
The bottom line is if Daniel Theis is playing the Horford minutes, the Celtics lose this series. I owe Horford and Brad Stevens an apology. What’s fair is fair.
PS: If I didn’t write this post, I’m convinced Horford’s sister would have assassinated me in my sleep. I may have deserved it.
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