Horford

[Ilikesports17]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

Ummm...Horford played unreal. In 22 minutes he had 13/7/2/1/1 with a +31. Looking at the box score and judging his performance on 13 points is part of the problem with people claiming how overpaid Horford is. He does so much more.

Im glad he played well against a Bulls team desperately trying to lose. If we are making one game judgements then Im reading way further into the goose egg he put up against Houston.

Well in that case I am judging him by either the 12/6/7+25 series clinching game against Chicago or the 15/6/5+14 series clinching game versus Washington. You know, showing up big when the games count most.

same, but I'd rather just evaluate him on the whole body of work and the whole body of work says he is a terrific player provided you don't ask him to be a dominant physical presence.

[KeepBigAl]

I think Al's switch to playing more 4, post the monroe signing, has had some unforeseen consequences.

I can see why he wants to play PF, given he is an undersized center.   However, he is getting less open looks from 3 at PF vs C. Theoretically, he can post more effectively at the 4 - but Al is really not much of a post player so the uplift in post scoring is less impactful than the decrease in 3 pt opportunities.

[Wretch]

The article is old but the premise is sound.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-important-player-on-the-celtics-isnt-who-you-think/

In summary Horford makes everyone better on offense without having to score.  Frankly he's the perfect team player. He passes well, shoots well, defends well. About the only knock on him is he's not a great rebounder. He's exactly who you want on a team with ball dominate players like Kyrie or IT last year.

He's absolutely worth his contract.  The economics in basketball are tough to really decipher. Many "max" players are actually under paid versus their value to their team, LeBron, Curry, AD, arguably Kyrie. While others are appropriately paid, like Horford.

[Vermont Green]

I think the Celtics are paying Horford more than I would like, perhaps above his true market value as of today.  But that doesn't mean he is not an important player and making an impact.  Say he was making $22M instead of $28M.  Would that make people feel better about his contribution?

Horford is one of those guys that does more than just what the box score says.  He is really good at keeping things moving, either picking or passing (and I don't mean just assists).  He is not a super star though.  I am fine with Al Horford for the team right now.  If we had Hayward, he might be the 3rd best player on the team.  Nothing wrong with that.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

You do realize that Jordan only scores 12 points per game?

You do realize that Horford accounts for about 24-25 points a game (can't find the exact stat), considering his assists as well? That's more than Zinger, Aldridge, Love, Drummond, Capella, and a whole host of other big men.

[Donoghus]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

You do realize that Jordan only scores 12 points per game?

You do realize that Horford accounts for about 24-25 points a game (can't find the exact stat), considering his assists as well? That's more than Zinger, Aldridge, Love, Drummond, Capella, and a whole host of other big men.

Read his/her subsequent post & you'll get it.

[Moranis]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

You do realize that Jordan only scores 12 points per game?

You do realize that Horford accounts for about 24-25 points a game (can't find the exact stat), considering his assists as well? That's more than Zinger, Aldridge, Love, Drummond, Capella, and a whole host of other big men.

why ignore rebounds? especially for a big man.  rebounds either eliminate possessions for your opponent or create possessions for you own team.  You can't just look at points and rebounds and totally ignore rebounds when determining value, especially for a big man.

[Androslav]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

You do realize that Jordan only scores 12 points per game?

You do realize that Horford accounts for about 24-25 points a game (can't find the exact stat), considering his assists as well? That's more than Zinger, Aldridge, Love, Drummond, Capella, and a whole host of other big men.

Screen assists, passes that lead to Fts, ability to Lead the offense...

[green_bballers13]

Wondering where the Horford hate will be after tonight?

Horford only scored 13 points!

I'd rather have Deandre Jordan on $4m less per year, despite the fact that he can't finish a close game!

You do realize that Jordan only scores 12 points per game?

You do realize that Horford accounts for about 24-25 points a game (can't find the exact stat), considering his assists as well? That's more than Zinger, Aldridge, Love, Drummond, Capella, and a whole host of other big men.

why ignore rebounds? especially for a big man.  rebounds either eliminate possessions for your opponent or create possessions for you own team.  You can't just look at points and rebounds and totally ignore rebounds when determining value, especially for a big man.

My point was not to disparage Deandre Jordan or his basketball game. He is an elite rim protector and rebounder. I just thought that he is not a good example of a player that the Celtics should have spent a ton of money on versus Horford.

Not everyone likes Horford's game. It's easy to point at his pedestrian stats after a Celtics loss. I do think that a lot of his value falls into the intangible category, thus making comparisons trickier. Marcus Smart has the same issue, though he's even more polarizing.