Al Horford’s confidence is exactly what we should come to expect

In a game that will go down as an instant classic, Boston Celtics veteran Al Horford asserted his dominance against the MVP in the fourth quarter plus overtime.

Nobody was more upbeat in the Boston Celtics locker room than Al Horford following a tough one-point defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers with the team missing out on a chance to go up 3-1 in the series. Not only has the former Atlanta Hawks’ star been there and done that with the majority of this roster, he knows how well his team finished the game.

A poor last second play in overtime or a missed Marcus Smart shot to end regulation were not the reasons for the defeat at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon. The Cs put themselves in a hole from the jump, getting outscored in the first 12 minutes by nine. Critics can talk about how Jayson Tatum needed to pass the ball just a second earlier to allow Smart time to get a shot off, but Boston never needed to get to that point if anybody but Jaylen Brown decided to bring any sort of energy from the opening tip.

Joe Mazzulla’s men held the home team to just 15 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. It was just the second time since 2019 that an opponent held the 76ers under 16 points in the fourth quarter of a postseason game. That was mostly due to the physical presence that was Horford against the MVP-winner Joel Embiid.

Horford was a thorn in Embiid’s side throughout the fourth quarter, collecting three blocks on the former Kansas big man in the final five minutes of regulation. PJ Tucker expressed after the game how there is nobody in this league that has the ability to cover Embiid one-on-one. The tape in the fourth quarter and overtime vs Horford say otherwise. While you cannot completely stop a player like Embiid for an entire game, there are points where you have to take advantage of his exhaustion. Horford did just that. You could just see the hesitation on Embiid’s moves on the elbow as he attempted to lose the 36-year-old as the MVP’s final bucket in regulation came with a whole 7:15 remaining.

His shimmy following the dunk that put the Boston Celtics up two with under four minutes left shows just how much confidence Horford is playing with right now. Defensively, he held arguably the most dominant offensive player left in the playoffs to just six points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Even when he does knock down a shot, Horford continuously challenges Embiid, and limits his airspace as much as possible without fouling. All the credit has to go to the supporting cast for the 76ers, especially James Harden for picking up the slack late in the game when Embiid was a complete non-factor.

Game 4 defeat was tough pill to swallow, but Al Horford’s confidence is massive positive for the Boston Celtics

Right around this time last season was when Horford came alive against the Milwaukee Bucks. Meaningful playoff basketball is what Horford has lived for all his career. That first NBA Finals appearance in 2022 was special for the veteran, but he knows this ball club has the ability to get back there. This team could have laid down, and conceded Game 4 on the road after falling behind by 14 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

Horford realized through all his experience that the mentality this group demonstrated to get back into the game was something that should not be overlooked. Boston knows what it is like to lose a one possession game this late in the playoffs. His leadership on the court and in the locker room is invaluable for the Cs. He took the assignment of Embiid down the stretch, and delivered.

No. 42 was brimming with confidence on the floor in Game 4, and even after the loss, his upbeat attitude remained the same. Calm, cool, and collected on the outside with a relentless fiery  competitiveness on the inside. That is Horford, and that is what makes him so valuable to this ball club, especially in moments like this in the postseason.