Al Horford Thread

Playoff Al is now tied for the third most game 7 wins ever (7) behind Bill Russell (10) and Sam Jones (9). His only two losses were against the Celtics in 2008 and the Cavs in 2018. Six of his seven wins have been by double digits (most all time) and three of them have been by 20+. If you want to blow out the other team in a game 7, Al's your guy.

ballup · Post #348 » by **ballup** » Mon May 15, 2023 11:38 pm

Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

zoyathedestroya · Post #349 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Tue May 16, 2023 3:01 am

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LewisnotMiller · Post #350 » by **LewisnotMiller** » Tue May 16, 2023 6:28 am

zoyathedestroya wrote:

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Such beautifully boring defence.

Unlike spiked shot blocks, or other highlight plays, it's 'just' good positioning, understanding the next counter when he takes correct position, jumping second on the contest, then focusing on his team securing the ball to prevent second shots.

It's the type of defence a sound player can play all day. No gambling, no real highlights. Just saps the offensive efficiency by being in the right spot, showing hands, and doing it over, and over, and over again.

Love it.

Fencer reregistered · Post #351 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Tue May 16, 2023 7:23 am

ballup wrote:Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

Why would this be his last year? He's playing well. He's under contract at a reasonable price. He seems to be very happy.

ballup · Post #352 » by **ballup** » Tue May 16, 2023 12:08 pm

Fencer reregistered wrote:
ballup wrote:Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

Why would this be his last year? He's playing well. He's under contract at a reasonable price. He seems to be very happy.

Think there was a faint rumor in the season that this could be Al‘s last one.

Al does not seem like he‘s slowing down like most of his peers, but you never know if the drop is incoming. there isnt many opportunities for a player to win it all, let alone repeat ones

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Hal14 · Post #353 » by **Hal14** » Tue May 16, 2023 1:03 pm

zoyathedestroya wrote:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

He's possibly the best in the league at defending Embiid, the MVP.

And was 2nd in the league in 3 pt % (1st among bigs)

Best 3&D big in the league, at age 36.

Gotta love Al.

Hal14 · Post #354 » by **Hal14** » Tue May 16, 2023 1:05 pm

ballup wrote:
Fencer reregistered wrote:
ballup wrote:Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

Why would this be his last year? He's playing well. He's under contract at a reasonable price. He seems to be very happy.
Think there was a faint rumor in the season that this could be Al‘s last one.

Al does not seem like he‘s slowing down like most of his peers, but you never know if the drop is incoming. there isnt many opportunities for a player to win it all, let alone repeat ones

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

That was an April fool's joke.

Everyone knew it was a joke, because Al signed a 2 year contract extension last december (so he's signed through the 2024-2025 season). Will likely retire after that (hopefully with 3 rings).

Fencer reregistered · Post #355 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Tue May 16, 2023 2:09 pm

ballup wrote:
Fencer reregistered wrote:
ballup wrote:Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

Why would this be his last year? He's playing well. He's under contract at a reasonable price. He seems to be very happy.
Think there was a faint rumor in the season that this could be Al‘s last one.

Al does not seem like he‘s slowing down like most of his peers, but you never know if the drop is incoming. there isnt many opportunities for a player to win it all, let alone repeat ones

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

When he was in college he decided that one championship wasn't enough for him. I'd expect the same in the pros.

Fencer reregistered · Post #356 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Wed May 17, 2023 6:00 am

Nice article about Al, even if it does end with the idea of him going out on top after one ring.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2023/05/16/al-horford-celtics-leadership-game-1-comments/

zoyathedestroya · Post #357 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Wed May 17, 2023 7:43 am

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Post #358 » by **Darthlukey** » Wed May 17, 2023 7:51 am

ballup wrote:Whether this is Al's last year or not, this team owes it to him to win one. The man has anchored so many impossible matchups over the years

It's amazing how well he has defended elite bigs. In his younger days the Hawks had to start a collins brother to protect him from Dwight

zoyathedestroya · Post #359 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Sat Jun 3, 2023 1:18 pm

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Age approaching that jersey number fast. Get this man a ring (as our backup big)!

31to6 · Post #360 » by **31to6** » Sat Jun 3, 2023 2:04 pm

Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso mostly showed up defensively against Embiid, but man it was a disappointment that Playoff Al was a no-show offensively after that 'elite shooter' comment early in the Sixers series.

Last playoffs in 23 games he averaged 35mpg, 12p, 9rb, 3a on 52/48/78% shooting.
This playoffs in 20 games he averaged 31mpg, 7p, 7r, 3a on 39/30/75% shooting. And that's 0.2 FTA/game, down from 1.6 last playoffs, which indicates the lack of impact offensively (usage went from 13% to 11%, but almost all stand-still 3s, right? The quick passes out of the post were mostly sad to me).

His DBPM went from 3.8 to 3.2, so again not shabby there, but OBPM went from 2.2 to -0.4 and that's where a decent chunk of this title run was lost IMO. Not that a drop-off is unexpected as his age, but it was painful to see it and this is part of what's prompted my hankering for trading JB for Siakam.

Still, happy birthday to the man with the most beautiful eyes that there is!