For the first time this season, the Celtics took on the Warriors and faced old friend, Al Horford, dominating, 121-110 in Golden State. This was the first matchup between Horford and the team he had spent the last four years with and won his first title with in 2024. Al left once, to join the 76ers back in 2019, and that was quickly proven to be a mistake as he was back with Boston after two disastrous seasons.
His second stint in Boston went even better than the first, and Al had earned Celtic-for-life status, but oddly chose to leave yet again in the offseason. It was a bit surprising to see the 39-year-old Horford want to go elsewhere at that point, but he had earned the right to ring-chase.
After Tatum’s injury, it looked like the Cs were primed to take a gap year and rebuild for another run in a year or two. That plan didn’t exactly fit with Al’s timeline, so he figured joining up with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and Steve Kerr would offer him his best chance at a second championship.
But boy, oh boy, was he wrong. After beating up on the Dubs, Boston is now 36-19 on the season, alone in second place in the East, while the Warriors have lost Butler for the season, have Steph missing games with a knee injury, and they’re just 29-27, clinging to the eight seed in the West.
Still, bad judgment aside, Horford is good money around Boston forever, and there are no hard feelings for his poor choice. At least, that’s how everyone felt. But then Al made some very strange comments before the game on Thursday night.
Horford left Boston for reasons deeper than basketball
"For me, the decision it's something that's deeper than just the basketball stuff. And it's something that at some point I'll share with people, but for me, it felt like it was the time for me to go elsewhere."
Well, that’s an interesting wrinkle. Aside from this comment, Horford had nothing but good things to say about Boston, the Celtics, and all of his old teammates and coaches. He even left open the possibility of returning and retiring as a Celtic someday, saying it would be a “privilege”. So what could he be referring to?
Was it a money issue? Maybe the Celts offered nothing but a minimum, while Golden State gave him their taxpayer midlevel with a player option for next season. Was it about playing time? Could the Celts have told Al they wanted to go in a younger direction? Could it have been something else within the locker room? Something we can’t even imagine?
I guess, anything is possible, but at the end of the day, I think the most logical option is most likely. In reality, I think Al made another mistake, leaving Boston for a second time. He regrets it yet again and is paying for his lack of trust in this great franchise. Why he won’t just admit that, and he’s choosing to be weird about it, who can say?
Until something else comes out and Al elaborates on these comments, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. You’d think he’d have learned by now, but alas. Now, he’s stuck wasting the season on a team that may end up tanking the last 26 games while the Celtics are chasing another Eastern Conference crown behind Neemy Queta, Luka Garza, and Nikola Vucevic. Life comes at you fast.