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Should Al Horford Play More Point Guard?

By Jeremy Stevens

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 18: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 18, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 18: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 18, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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"I’ve played with guys who could get the board and push it, but I’ve never played with a 5 man who’s got it off the board and just pushed it like that"

–Kyrie Irving

Al Horford separates himself from other NBA centers with his guard-like ability to pass the ball. He’s second among centers in total assists on the young season and led the Boston Celtics in assist-to-turnover ratio last season (via Synergy).

Horford always makes the right pass out of a double-team, and the Celtics as a team loaded up on assists last season by finding cutters for easy baskets. Should the Celtics run the offense through him more often?

Per Synergy, the Celtics were sixth in points per possession off cuts last year, with cut specialists Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and Kelly Olynyk (?!) being some of the most efficient in that category.

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Naturally, a new roster operates differently and the Celtics are now 28th in PPP off cuts three games in. It’s a small sample size, but it’s a trend we might expect to continue while the offense takes time to figure itself out, not to mention the team’s cutters were replaced with more isolation-oriented players.

Could the new-look offense look better if it was ran through Horford now and then? Not as a primary option, but I’m thinking of a scenario where Aron “All of Australia” Baynes sets screens for shooters and Horford makes the pass.

Maybe Irving hands the ball off at the top of three-point arc, cuts towards the basket before making a hairpin turn back out towards Baynes, who has already set his screen, creating space for Irving to catch a perfect pass from Horford. Knowing Brad Stevens, there would be a second player cutting on a similar route as a diversion, allowing the defense an opportunity to make a mistake.

This leads to a second question: Why is Horford making the pass? Can’t anybody make that pass? My answer is probably too simple, but I’ll give it anyway – Horford can read the floor better than anyone, and I’m most confident that he’ll do the next best thing if the play breaks down, with his great passes out of the aforementioned double-teams as evidence. His superior assist-to-turnover ratio is also relevant here.

Brad Stevens has run a lot of five-out, small-ball offenses since becoming the Celtics coach, but the additions of Daniel Theis and Aron Baynes provide the roster with interior toughness that the team hasn’t had since… Kendrick Perkins?

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Pairing either of those players with Horford allows the Celtics to keep their spacing even with two centers on the floor. And what about when Marcus Morris comes back? Could there be a tall-ball lineup with Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum/Marcus Morris/Al Horford/Aron Baynes? Is it time to unleash Tatum as an all-purpose point-forward? Those are all the rage these days.

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