There are moments over the course of a season when Al Horford occasionally looks his age of 38 years and 280 days old. He shows rare glimpses of the wear and tear that comes with 42,000 total minutes played over 18 NBA seasons.
Then, invariably, the bright lights of a big-time matchup flick on. And if Father Time was ever visible in the rearview mirror, Horford shifts to a higher gear to leave him coughing in a dust storm as he speeds off.
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Horford turned back the clock yet again Saturday night. The Lakers, whose head coach, JJ Redick, is just two years older and entered the NBA just one season before Horford, seemingly tried to exploit the big man’s veteran status by repeatedly putting Horford in isolation.
Horford, as he typically does, left the opposition flummoxed by his defense, regardless of whether it was fellow NBA octogenarian LeBron James, or the much younger Luka Doncic. Horford’s defense was key to propelling the Celtics to a triumph in a rivalry showdown with the Lakers at TD Garden.
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“I’m the biggest Al Horford fan there is. I love that guy,” teammate Jayson Tatum told reporters after Saturday’s win over the Lakers. “The things he’s able to do provide in Year 18, I don’t think that gets talked about enough.”
So let’s talk about them:
- The Lakers put Horford in 23 isolation situations, the second-most in tracking history, per ESPN’s analytics guru Dean Oliver. Second Spectrum data had Horford allowing a meager 0.39 points per direct play. That’s well below Horford’s 0.98 points points per play allowed in isolation defense this season, per Synergy data.
- NBA tracking had the Lakers making 8 of 24 shot attempts against Horford, including just 3 of 13 2-point shots (23.1 percent) when Horford was the primary defender, or 32.6 percent below expected output on those shots.
- Horford finished with a Game Score of 18.5, his second highest mark of the season. Game Score is a mashup of box score data distilled down to one digestible number. Horford put up 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block over 37:20. His only better Game Score was a 19.6 mark versus Cleveland in November.
- Horford finished with a game-high five deflections, per NBA hustle stats. (Jaylen Brown had the same number.) It emphasizes just how active he was on Saturday night, often disrupting pass attempts out of the isolations he was routinely put in.
- In two meetings this season, Horford has now limited James to six points on 2-of-12 shooting (16.7 percent) in 4:49 of matchup time.
Forget the groundhog seeing his shadow; the true sign that spring is near is Horford kicking to a higher gear before the playoffs arrive. Over the past two weeks, Horford has logged three of his four highest minute totals of the season. He played a season-high 37:34 against Cleveland on February 28, 37:20 vs. the Lakers on Saturday, and 34:57 vs. Denver on March 2.
The Celtics are 15-3 when Horford plays 31-plus minutes this season, with the only three losses being: 1) A blown early lead against the Cavs last month, 2) The Christmas Day stumble against the 76ers, and 3) A narrow loss at Orlando in December.
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In typical Horford fashion, he just shrugs off his sustained impact, though he did relent that bigger games tend to bring out his best lately.
“It probably has to do with the importance of the game and understanding this is when the team needs me the most,” Horford told reporters on Saturday night. “For me, it’s just trying to find a way to have an impact.”
It’s Year 18 and Horford still loves doing the dirty work: grinding on the defensive end, getting rebounds, and setting screens. The 3-pointers he knocks down from the corners are a bonus.
He’s still ridiculously spry. Just ask Doncic. After a first-half dunk in transition, Horford was swinging back off the rim when his knees floored Doncic as he jogged into the paint.
Doncic hit the ground, and now he knows how Father Time feels each time he tries to pry Horford off the rim.
