3 X-factors that will help clinch Game 4 series sweep for the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics player No. 3) Al Horford

Throughout his return season with the Boston Celtics, veteran big man Al Horford has constantly proven himself to be right up there with Marcus Smart as being the team’s heart and soul of this ball club.

During this year’s postseason, this narrative has only been strengthened.

Despite being at the ripe old age of 35, Big Al has gone on to provide the type of energy, hustle, and Swiss Army style of play that’s generally seen from the more youthful ballers in this league.

From leading the charge on fast breaks whilst serving as the primary ball-handler to getting back on defense and sticking step for step with guys like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Horford’s production has been a true blessing for the C’s throughout their first-round battle.

In a whopping 34 minutes a night, the 15-year pro is putting up stat sheet stuffing averages of 13 points, eight rebounds, 2.3 assists, one steal, and one block on 60 percent shooting from both the field and from deep.

What’s been fantastic about Horford’s 2022 postseason run, however, is that his numbers really only tell half the story when it comes to his overall impact on this shamrocks squad.

Though he may have only put up a logline of three points and three boards in Game 3, one could actually make the argument that he was just as vital to this win as he was in Game 1’s when he dropped 20 points and 15 rebounds.

In Saturday’s contest, while he may not have impressed in the glamorous scoring department, the veteran was highly active in many other pivotal areas, such as in the passing game (dished out three assists while constantly keeping the ball movement flowing), on defense (swatted two shots and altered many others), and, simply put, in the leadership category where he’d hype up his players after a great hustle play, calm them down when perhaps on the brink of losing their cool, and being the first player to pick them up when they hit the ground.

While it’s obviously nice to see Al Horford dropping 20 & 15 in a game, he doesn’t necessarily need to do so in order to make a major impact towards winning.

Frankly, in our humble opinion, all he really needs to do is show up for this team and serve as that steadying force within the rotation.

Al Horford epitomizes Boston Celtics basketball in 2021-22 and, should he play the brand of ball we’ve grown to love in Monday’s outing, this team should be able to achieve the series sweep.