3 reasons why the Boston Celtics missed Al Horford during west coast trip
By Sam LaFrance
The floor shrinks for the Boston Celtics
One of the great things about Al Horford is that he makes things a lot easier on his Boston Celtics teammates. Big Al’s ability to stretch the floor creates more space for both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to score inside. Teams have to respect Horford’s jump shot, as he’s shooting career-high 46% from beyond the arc. Defenses can’t pack the paint and swarm the ball handler when Big Al is waiting on the perimeter.
During Tuesday’s collapse against the Lakers, the Celtics struggled to score throughout the second half because LA just starting abandoning guys on the perimeter.
Good defense from the Lakers and it's not just the switching but now you see the help defense factoring in. Look at the bodies that Tatum sees on his drive. pic.twitter.com/7ayZhGHtIB
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) December 14, 2022
In the two losses to the Warriors and Clippers Tatum saw a ton of extra attention. His numbers around the rim dropped as a result. On average, Tatum drives about 10 times per game and makes 48% of his shot attempts on those drives. In those two losses he averaged one drive less and his field goal percentage dropped by three percent. This was a change that really could’ve been picked up without the stats, they eye test did the trick. The success on the drive wasn’t there for Tatum, but things will only get easier once Horford returns.