Al Horford, unable to play vs. Celtics, expresses love for time in Boston

Like Kyrie Irving before him, Al Horford did not play in his first game back at TD Garden after leaving the Celtics via free agency. Unlike in the case of Irving, nobody accused Horford of ducking the moment.

Two different people, two different Celtics careers, two different sets of relationships and memories.

For one thing, Horford didn’t end the home portion of his career by walking off the court and to the locker room with eight seconds left in his final game at the Garden. He left with nothing but gratitude for his Celtics experience and the feeling was mutual.

Horford, who signed with the 76ers via free agency, was unable to play Thursday night against the Celtics because of left knee soreness and left hamstring tightness stemming from a late-game injury vs. the Nuggets. He tested his hamstring at the morning shoot-around and again in the hours leading up to the game and was disappointed it didn’t respond well enough for him to play.

“It’s good to be back here to see some people,” Horford said in the hall outside the Sixers locker room, standing on the opposite wall from a framed photo of him in a Celtics uniform under the words, “Welcome Back.” “I just wish I was good to go and compete, but besides that, at least I was able to see a lot of people here. I saw some of the guys and some of the assistant coaches, haven’t seen coach (Brad) Stevens yet. We talked about how well they’ve been doing and how well we’ve been doing.”

Why are the Celtics doing so well?

“I think it starts with coach Stevens,” Horford said. “He’s great at what he does. The years I was here, different players may be out and he was always putting different guys in a position to win. So that doesn’t surprise me. But then you have guys like Jaylen Brown playing at an All-Star level, Jayson Tatum playing at an All-Star level, then obviously Kemba (Walker), so you have talent. The talent is here, that’s why it’s no surprise.”

One more time, Horford addressed what drove his decision to join the Sixers.

“Really just looking at that opportunity,” Horford said. “I felt like the opportunity to go over there and play alongside a guy like Joel Embiid was going to be hard for me to pass up. To have that opportunity to I feel like win now, that was one of the things that really drove me.”

Both Stevens and Horford discussed elements of their ideal player-coach relationship.

“Coach Stevens (was) always emphasizing preparations for games. That’s one of the (reasons) that I was able to grow as a player,” Horford said. “I feel like I was good at that before, but here with him I feel like it’s on another level, how he prepares. That’s one of the things that I learned quickly when I was here. Also just feeling the game, playing, being kind of like that big guy, but also making plays. I always knew I was able to do that, but I was able to get a lot of opportunities to do that here, and I feel like that’s transitioned over here in Philly now.”

Stevens summed up what he appreciates about Horford in one sentence and then kept going.

“Al’s a really good person; he’s a really good player,” Stevens said. “We won a lot of games with him being a huge, huge part of what we were doing at both ends of the court. It was interesting. I was looking at his stats as I was getting ready for this game and it’s almost identical, his percentages, his points and his rebounds. He just brings the same game to the court every day. He has the consistency about him everyone talks about, and rightly so.”

Horford averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists and shot .360 from 3-point range in the final of his three seasons with the Celtics. In his first season with the Sixers, he’s averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists and shooting .366 from long range.

How can such remarkable consistency be explained?

“He’s a good guy,” Stevens said. “He’s a pro. He’s been a winner his whole career. He’s a normal guy in a lot of ways. He just comes to work, works hard, and again, he’s won everywhere he’s been. You know, Florida (back-to-back national titles), and what’s this, his 13th year and he’s been in the playoffs every year. I thought that he gave us an unbelievable bump when he came here, and I can see it when he’s gone to Philly.”

Horford said he wasn’t sure what reaction he would get from the crowd.

“Regardless, I have no hard feelings against them,” Horford said. “It’s all love.”

Horford was shown on the video board between the first and second quarters and the crowd gave him a big ovation. He stood up and waved in all directions and the ovation grew louder.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2YKyN8k