As the Celtics take another crack at winning a championship, no one is showing more urgency than Al Horford. It was on display during Tuesday’s practice.
A day before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Horford wasn’t satisfied with how the Celtics were handling their business. The veteran big man stepped in.
“It was a little light,” Malcolm Brogdon said. “Practice was light and guys were a little loose and Al brought us together in the middle of practice and just told us to tighten it up. I think it’s those constant reminders from our leader that’s going to help us stay poised, start the series poised, and really locked in.”
Those instances aren’t uncommon inside the Celtics locker room, on the court or in the huddle during heated, critical playoff moments. More than just his inspired play on the court, Horford’s leadership in pivotal times have guided the Celtics back into position to advance to the NBA Finals again.
“That’s all the time. He’s always getting on our ass when we need it,” Robert Williams said. “Even during losses, some of the losses we took to Philly, he would just sit us down and he would go, ‘Hey, we made the bed, we gotta learn from it, we can’t cry, we can’t run from it,’ so he was just telling us yesterday, no assuming. Take everything serious. Really grasp this moment, and let’s take advantage of it.”
Horford hasn’t done that just during the playoffs, either.
“He might do that during the regular season. You never know, if you make him mad enough,” Williams said. “But obviously you can tell his attention to detail is way more focused, and more than that, his drive to talk to everybody or like make sure everybody is mentally ready for this, knowing that he’s been here before a couple of times, and he’s been in hard-fought playoff series, and you might need to talk to some guys to give them pep talks.
“It might not be just getting on to us or disciplining us, but just letting us know like, ‘All right, this is going to be tough, guys. I need you to do this, I need you to lock in this way.’ We respond for him.”
Brogdon, who’s in his first season with the Celtics, said Horford’s voice has been noticeable throughout the season.
“I think he’s seen the most but he’s also just sort of taken the throne on leading us, and you know you have a special leader when guys like Jayson Tatum, a top-five player in the world, Jaylen Brown, another top player in the world, listen to him,” Brogdon said. “Quiet, they listen to him. They want his feedback. They want his leadership. So Al’s been that special leader for us all season.”
Horford turns 37 in a few weeks. He signed a contract extension this season to keep him in Boston through 2025 and it looks like he has plenty left in the tank. But he’s clearly not taking these opportunities for granted. The Celtics want to win for him.
“That’s a huge piece,” Brogdon said. “Al has given this league so much, he’s given this organization so much, these guys so much, and I think a big piece for us is to want to see him go out on top, go out with a championship, go out with a ring, because he’s more deserving than anybody.”