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Celtics’ Al Horford named among 2022 playoffs’ biggest surprises by NBA

justin quinn
·3 min read
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Fans of the Boston Celtics might take the late-career excellence of veteran big man Al Horford for granted more than they ought to, but the Florida product’s outstanding play this season has been a critical part of the Celtics’ success in recent months, particularly in postseason play where he seems to have found a fountain of youth on the court.

That is getting him the attention of the national media, and Horford’s play has even been called one of the 2022 NBA Playoffs’ “biggest surprises” by NBA.com’s Shaun Powell. Alongside the playoff success of the Golden State Warriors, the outstanding play of Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, and the disappointing play of Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets (which Horford had a hand in), the Celtics center has played his way into elite company since the start of the first round.

Powell begins by asking us to “examine the curious career path of Horford,” tracing his path through a personal wilderness era back to the Celtics after leaving in free agency to join the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.

“(Horford) surprisingly left the Celtics three years ago by opting out and bolted to Philadelphia in a money grab (four years, $97 million),” begins the author.

“He immediately proved a poor fit next to Joel Embiid and became the target of jeers in Philly, especially after Horford famously flamed out in the bubble. He was dumped on the Oklahoma City Thunder before the 2020-21 season (the Sixers had to sweeten the deal with a protected first-rounder). The Thunder had no use for him and he appeared in just 28 games before being effectively told to sit down and collect checks.”

“At this point, Horford was nearing 35 and approaching a career crossroad as time was running out and there was little demand for him,” adds Powell.

“The good news for him is the Celtics had tired of Kemba Walker,” he offers.

“Last offseason there was a trade of my-bad-contract-for-yours when Horford and Walker were exchanged, sending Horford back to Boston — a place he probably should’ve never left. (Walker never played for OKC and wound up in New York, in case you forgot.) This is where the story turns for the better: Horford is playing very well for the Celtics in an important role once again. In these playoffs he’s hitting the perimeter shot (54.2% on 3-pointers) and rebounding (8.0 rpg).”

“In short, he’s doing all the things that made him so beloved in his first stint with Boston,” closes Powell.

There have been counterarguments to the value of having kept the pick sent out to bring Horford back to Boston and move off of Walker’s salary, with bigs like Alperun Sengun and Herbert Jones left on the board.

But the draft is far from the sure thing it looks in retrospect, and Horford’s known quantity was a gamble that made sense at the time.

And the results we have seen from his team since his return has since made a pretty convincing argument in favor of the path the Celtics’ front office took in bringing him back.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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