Al Horford has Been Worth Every Penny of his Max Contract
Horford has been worth every penny of his max contract that he signed this past summer with the Celtics
Al Horford became the Boston Celtics’ biggest free agent signing in franchise history when he accepted a four year-$113 million max contract. Horford is a multiple time all star, but people questioned why the Celtics would give so much money to a player who isn’t a superstar.
This season, Horford has proved to be worth every bit of that max contract. He has been one of the driving forces behind the Celtics’ improvement this season into one of the top two teams in the eastern conference. Anyone who says Horford has been worth it for Boston simply hasn’t watched the positive effects he has had on the team as a whole.
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Horford’s style of play is incredibly unselfish, and is centered around ball movement and fundamentals. He averages five assists per game, which is first among NBA centers. Also, with the best assist/turnover ratio at his position at 2.91, Horford proves that he has been the best passing big man in the league this season.
The extra ball movement that Horford provides has led to the Celtics becoming the fourth best team in the NBA this year when it comes to passing the ball. With higher assist totals and the space that Horford has provided thanks to his perimeter game, the Celtics have been consistently a top ten offensive team(Off. Rating) this year.
Boston’s hallmark under Brad Stevens has been defense. The addition of Horford has not hurt their defense since they are still towards the top of league in defensive rating, and it has substantially helped their offense.
Isaiah Thomas has had a break out season after making the all star game for the first time last year. In the playoffs, the Atlanta Hawks were able to key in on Thomas and keep him from impacting the game the way he normally did. There was no space on the floor with Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger as the starting bigs.
With Horford in the mix, there is a proven scoring big that can stretch the floor and take attention away from Thomas. Teams can choose to key in on Thomas, but Horford makes them pay by either scoring or setting up his teammates.
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Horford is on a max contract, and he will be for another three seasons. If he does the same thing he has done this year for the remainder of the deal, I see it as a worthwhile move. He makes every player around him better, and has a dynamic ability to pass from the center position. If the Celtics didn’t have Horford this year, there is no way that they would be challenging Cleveland for the top seed in the east.