The Boston Celtics have arguably been the most disappointing team in the entire league this season.
After making it to within just two games on reaching the NBA Finals last season, through 41 games played in 2020-21 they find themselves boasting a losing record of 20-21 and just barely holding onto the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
To put more perspective on the state of the Cs, this is the first time in seven years that they’ve found themselves with a .500 record or below by this point on the schedule.
Now, as the March 25th trade deadline rapidly approaches, there are only a handful of days in which Danny Ainge and co. can try and acquire some of this year’s high-profile available players to help bolster Boston’s struggling rotation.
While we at the Houdini have our own thoughts about what path in which the front office should take, other media conglomerates, too, have their own opinions on hypothetical scenarios that could transpire.
Recently, Bleacher Report once again put their two cents in about who the shamrocks could find themselves landing come the deadline and stated that their former All-Star center, Al Horford could realistically make his way back to Massachusetts.
Bleacher Report tabs the Boston Celtics as a realistic landing spot for Al Horford
Stating that the Boston Celtics would be the ‘ideal landing spot’ for the current OKC Thunder starting big, writer Mandela Namaste believes that a reunion with the Cs and Horford could be a solid solution to perhaps their biggest weak spot within the rotation: frontcourt talent.
"To address this concern, the team would be well-served to add a floor-spacing center, and there’s a familiar and available name who could fill this need: Al Horford.After a disappointing season in Philadelphia, the big man has quietly rehabbed his trade value in Oklahoma City, averaging his most points per game (14.3) in five years while recording a 3.03 assist-to-turnover ratio, sixth-best among centers. Horford is 34, but he’s still a playoff-caliber contributor.From the point guard position to an overall lack of bench depth, the Celtics have issues that a Horford reunion wouldn’t immediately solve. But he’d address one of their biggest needs, and that could make all the difference in the postseason."
Perhaps going unnoticed due to the fact that he’s playing for the rarely buzzed-about Thunder, Al Horford is finding himself putting up similar stats to that of when he was suiting up for the green and white from 2016 to 2019.
Through 27 games played the big man is posting per-game averages of 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and just shy of a block on 45 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from deep.
While there are certainly more popular options for Ainge to target and this year’s deadline — even ones at the same position as Horford –, for the right price, we believe that bringing back ‘Big Al’ could help serve as a band-aid solution for one of their most lackadaisical rotations through the rest of the season and, in turn, could help get this team back to looking like their old and successful self.