In his time here, Horford was looked at as the "glue guy" on our team and someone who was the ideal team player and could do a lot of different things on the court. He may not have had those flashy numbers/stats, but his production was vital and anyone could tell you that he made us a better team and that he helped us win a lot of games.
One of his biggest strengths was being able to do well on BOTH ends of the floor, especially on defense. And I think that's where we'll really miss Horford's presence and out of all the guys likely leaving (Rozier, Kyrie, Horford, Morris, etc.), I actually think Horford is the guy we'll truly miss most because of it (and his "team first mentality" which Rozier + Kyrie lacked).
In the East, Giannis remains in MIL, Gasol in TOR, Embiid in PHI. Horford honestly did a great job holding his own against them and actually played great defense for the most part, most noticeably on Embiid.
But what scares me is... how on earth are we supposed to handle the other top bigs in the East going forward
Sure, we could certainly add a big using the MLE and/or vet. min to go along with Timelord and Grant Williams, but unless the big we get is solid on defense I think we're going to get smoked by the likes of Giannis, Embiid, etc. lol. Hell, they could realistically put up like 40/20 against us and our thin front court.
I hope Ainge has a plan for the front court even if he signs Kemba, I really do. Because otherwise, we're going to get smacked even more by the likes of Drummond, Embiid, etc. and maybe even other teams' 3rd string bigs.
It's sad Horford is leaving, but I don't necessarily blame anyone, since Horford could realistically contend somewhere else and the C's may not want to go past 4/100M+ for him. But still, our frontcourt defense without him will take a massive hit.
And no, I'm NOT trading Smart or Brown in some package for Capela or Adams. Forget it. Not worth it. 
Topic: Horford's Defense Will Be Brutally Missed (Read 4516 times)