Al Horford is Becoming More of a Leader
Al Horford is more of a leader than most realize for the Boston Celtics
After the Boston Celtics completely flipped their roster, bringing back just four players from last season, there were a lot of questions about chemistry and leadership. The Celtics lost both Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas, who were the identity of this team. They were the inspiration, and they held everyone together on and off the court.
They may have done it differently, because Bradley is not nearly as out spoken, but the two of them were as important to this team off the court as they were on it. Thomas is one of the most inspiring stories in the history of the NBA, and the effort he gave every night impacted everyone. Bradley is then the one player to have gone though the Pierce/Garnett, era, allowing him to be in a positon to know what it means to play on a championship contending team.
When the Celtics lost the two of them, it was very unclear who would take over as leaders on and off the court.
Marcus Smart is the first one you look to. He plays with the energy and intensity that sets the tone for everyone on the court, and sometimes it feels like he is thinking for each and every player on defense. Smart embodies everything this team is about, and he is absolutely the kind of leader they need.
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Then there is Al Horford, who is a much different kind of leader. He is not as crazy or outspoken as Smart, but he is doing so many different things for his teammates on and off the court. First of all, he is the main facilitator on this team. Kyrie Irving is the number one offensive option, but Horford instigates the highest functioning offense the Celtics have, and he is exactly who players need to look to when it comes to what needs to be done on the court, on both ends.
On top of that, Horford is even becoming more of a leader off the court. He does not have that emotional impact that Smart does, but he has the respect of everyone in this league, and the support he gives his teammates are vital.
It is always going to be Horford’s job to get players like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum involved on the court, but he is also doing it off the court. When you read the things Horford has to say about these players, you can tell he is the one the youngsters need to pay attention to, to make sure that they always play the right way.
Smart motivates this team by playing with so much energy that they feel the need to match him. Horford motivates his teammates by looking to things they can embrace, to make them more special. When talking about Brown, Horford called him an “X-Factor”, because of his physicality.
What this does is give Brown the confidence he needs to know that he has to keep his aggressive mentality, because of how important he is on both ends. Horford also managed to capture the best way for him to have that impact: his physical dominance.
When talking about Tatum, he mentioned how far ahead the rookie was this season. Horford is giving him that confidence he needs to maintain the massive role he has. On top of that, however, he also preached patience, by looking ahead to what Tatum will become in two years.
Horford is not you typical leader, but he is the kind of leader this team needs. He leads in all the ways that Smart does not, and the two of them together help bring out something special in this roster.