Admittedly, I write this out of frustration. One of the few Celtics least likely to get blame for the team's 2-5 start is 35-year-old Al Horford. He is off to a great individual start in 2021. But with only this season and next on his present contract, is he wasting his time and effort in Beantown?
Horford is averaging career-highs in rebounds per game (10.4), steals per game (1.2), blocks per game (3.2) and free throw shooting (91%). But to little avail. His teammates seem to have no idea how to successfully finish games. Two of the losses were in double-OT - one was in single-OT - and a fourth was last night's debacle when they allowed the Chicago Bulls to run all over them in the fourth quarter. And Al doesn't point fingers at others. He takes blame, even when it is not deserved.
Al Horford on when the game got away from the Celtics: "Towards the end of the third, coach stressed to us to not let our foot off the gas. To start the fourth quarter, I'm going to take blame there. I didn't play with the urgency we needed. We gave them life there."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 2, 2021
A 2-5 record could have been 6-1. When Al returned to the Celtics, I felt he would be a steadying influence for a rather-young, and still-immature roster. He is trying to do just that, but it is not working on his comrades. I still feel talent and character will win out eventually, and the Ws will become more frequent. Horford has both of those qualities, but his teammates need to translate them into victories. We just don't know how many seasons this man-of-character has left in him.
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