Al Horford has proven to be one of the most impactful players for the Celtics in the 2022 Playoffs, his consistency has proven to be the X factor.
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On Monday evening Boston Celtics bounced back from their Game 3 loss against the Miami Heat like they have done every other time in this year’s Playoffs.
It looked like it was the Miami Heat that had suffered a horrific loss last game because the Celtics were so great and frictionless from the starting whistle of Game 4.
Heat’s starting five couldn’t score a cumulative of 20 points, with Bam Adebayo (9), Jimmy Butler (6), Kyle Lowry (3), PJ Tucker (0), and Max Strus (0) making the scoresheet look like a phone number.
On the other hand, four of the C’s starting five scored 12 or more points with Jayson Tatum leading the bunch with his 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks in the 102-82 thrashing.
And the one Boston player who couldn’t score in double digits had the second biggest impact on the game, giving reminisce of a certain great player from the Chicago Bulls team of the late 90s.
Al Horford took out his inner Dennis Rodman in Game 4 win
Although the ever-so-quiet and easy-going Al Horford is nothing like Dennis the Menace personality-wise, his impact on the game of basketball, especially this season, has been nothing short of the Bulls legend.
While he had a quiet night, scoring-wise getting just 5-points converting one out of the two shots he attempted in the game, his 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists proved very crucial and impactful for Boston in imposing their early dominance in the game.
Al Horford just played maybe the best 5-point game I’ve seen since Dennis Rodman.
13 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks. And that doesn’t even start to tell the story of how good he was defensively. Major bounce-back game for the Celtics defense without the DPOY, led by Horford.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 24, 2022
In the Game 3 loss, He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep when Jayson Tatum struggled to get buckets. The 35-year-old dropped the team’s 2nd highest score of 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks, which brought Celtics right back in the game.
But their turnovers cost them the game and he a contribution in that department as well. But after the game, he came out showing confidence in his teammates assuring that it wouldn’t happen again.
Al Horford on Jaylen and Jayson: “We put a lot of their shoulders… it’s not easy and they’ve done a good job all year… I have the most confidence in my guys… and I believe they’ll be fine.” pic.twitter.com/fVZADLArxe
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 22, 2022
And in Game 4, Al, Tatum, and Brown had a total of 4 turnovers as compared to the last game’s 16. Horford had 0 against 3 in Game 3.
That’s what a Championship team needs from one of its most impactful players – maximum impact with minimal errors.