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Al Horford’s Offense is Not Measured in Scoring

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 16: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on November 16, 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 Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 16: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on November 16, 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 Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Al Horford is proving that he can be the most important offensive player for the Boston Celtics, without scoring much at all

The Boston Celtics had their most complete offensive performance of the season against the Orlando Magic, and Al Horford was as big of a reason why as anybody else. The odd part is you would have absolutely no idea if you just looked at his scoring. Horford is a top option for the Celtics, but finished with just five points on 2-5 shooting.

Horford’s scoring is one of the biggest reasons why he is the most underrated player in the NBA, because he was controlling and instigating everything on offense. The Celtics had their best offensive quarter in the first, and that was behind eight assists from Horford in just that frame.

Horford was getting his teammates looks they want, and he was finding everyone that was in a strong position. Of course, none of it would have mattered if the players were not able to hit their shots, which everyone was doing. That being said, no individual was responsible for as much overall offense than Horford in that first quarter, and it set the tone for their most complete performance of the season.

Horford is always going to be a fascinating player to evaluate, because you always need to look at how the players around him do in order to determine what king of job Horford is doing. Horford makes everything easier for everyone, and makes sure the offense is functioning at the highest level.

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Even if he is not registering the assist, Horford instigates more ball movement than anyone else, and creates as much space as any big in the NBA. Even if he is not scoring, you have to respect Horford from beyond the arc, opening things up on the inside. Even if he is not forcing it, most bigs will need to help Horford when he attacks in the paint, and no one is better at dishing out when the help comes, leading to a quality look.

It is weird to say this this was a bit of a slump busting game for Horford, because of that lack of scoring, but the Celtics needed him to get back to playing this way. The Celtics are finding more players that are getting comfortable shooting the ball. The problem is that they do not have as many payers that can instigate proper ball movement, and get the offense functioning at a higher level.

Horford is the one that brings everything together. They have elite finishers with Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but if they are left on their own everything gets a lot harder. They have shown their ability to hit the difficult shots. The problem is that the offense is not going to be at its best when people are expected to make difficult shots.

Horford allows the rest of the team to get a lot more comfortable, and find the spots where they are strongest. They have finishers that will hit the difficult shots when they need to, but they are automatic when they get the easy looks. These players do a great job of making the difficult shots look easy, but it takes too much of a tole for that to happen on a regular basis.

We have seen how much more this offense labors when Horford is not playing well. The ball movement is drastically down from last season, but some of that is by design. The Celtics are taking a different approach to their offense. Even if ball movement is not quite as prominent as it was last year, that does not mean it is less important.

Next: Celtics Need to Keep Offense Rolling Against Pacers

This team is still a work in progress, and they are still trying to figure out exactly how the offense needs to function. What we do know for sure, however, is that Horford is going to be the most important player in establishing that functionality. Horford’s box scores will often look disappointing, but that is never the standard that he is measured by. More so than anyone else on this team, Horford’s success is going to be measured by the success of his teammates, and the impact he has on improving every single player around him, rather than just his own production.

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