When the Sixers took over Al Horford last July, their upheaval was double-edged. In addition to getting a five-time All-Star who they thought could solve the backup center problem behind Joel Embiid, the team picked a key player from a rival – one who could best defend Embiid.
Now that Horford’s first season as Sixer is nearing its end, there’s a double whammy to consider. First, his four-year contract with a guaranteed $ 97 million is tricky when thinking about opportunities to improve the team going forward. And second, it’s natural for one to wonder where the Sixers would be if the money spent on Horford was used instead in better ways. Some hybrid shooting, playing and competent backup center game sounds very preferable.
The 34-year-old Horford, appearing in the NBA playoffs for the 12th time, started the Friday loss of 102-94 Game 3. Instead of putting Matisse Thybulle on Jayson Tatum and bringing Horford off the bench, as he had done in Game 2, opened head coach Brett Brown with the veteran big man and played him for almost 38 minutes.
Horford has had worse games than Sixer, but his performances were not what the team required. He turned Jaylen Brown twice on three-point attempts. The first burglary, a mistake of the first quarter, made after Horford Brown had previously lost three possessions from back door, aroused mild frustration. The second jumped fierce disagreement before Brown’s free throw gave a 90-89 Sixers lead.
While he did a solid job in pick-and-roll coverage and had a defensive few bright moments, Horford contributed a little to the other end of the floor through the first three games of the series. On Friday, he scored six points on 1 for 5 shots, grabbed 10 rebounds and had no assists.
So, why did Horford start the game both close and close?
Just the importance of this game, the scope of this game, ”Brett Brown said at a conference call. “A little bit (he plays his) former team. Mostly just the moment. He has been in the playoffs for 12 years. He’s Al Horford. There’s a physique I knew and knew he would bring to the table. And I just trusted his resume, I trusted the fact that he would come with a mature mind and a physical presence. It does not need much thought, really, going through after you do the seary etch.
‘For me, it was kind of inevitable. You get to this situation, Game 3 … when we go down, I’m going down with him. I thought that defensively, he was very good.
It would be wrong to dismiss Brown’s decision to go with Horford over Thybulle as an irregular, unjustified mistake. Thybulle delivers even less than Horford offensively at this stage, although he is an ultra-talented defender, the rookie is not a one-time remedy for Tatum.
However, it’s worth pausing for a second on that one line: When we go downstairs, I go down with him.
The Sixers’ ship sinks – almost completely under water, in truth. Unless they become the first NBA team to ever come back to win a series after trailing 3-0, this very, very unusual season will end with a first-round loss. Horford portrayed GM Elton Brand and the front office’s desire to embrace good, old-fashioned “bully ball” when Brown had hoped for a no. 1 seed, and it looks like he’ll be in the starting lineup when it’s hot.
Of course, the Sixers will not say that the end is near. Brown took the same position when asked if he was thinking about his future and job status.
“I do not,” he said. ‘I’m not really doing it. I understand the circumstance. My job is to focus on what I can really do. My players deserve that. I have been in this city for seven years. The loss of the evening is what strikes me most. My effort is really trying to find a way to win and keep this series and do my job for my players. ”
Embiid is averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds against the Celtics for a team that might not win a playoff game. In the regular season, the Sixers had a minus-0.5 net rating with Embiid and Horford on the floor. In the playoffs, the team has an outlandish minus-35.6 net rating in 62 Horford-Embiid minutes.
Not everything is under water yet. However, the Horford-Embiid combination still does not work, Ben Simmons’ unique versatility is sorely missed and the Sixers shoot 26.4 percent from three-yard area vs. Boston. The team’s one healthy star is desperate for at least one playoff win in the NBA “bubble” at Disney World.
“I do not want to be swept away,” said Embiid. ‘I do not want that on my CV. Like I said, I’ll play my ass off. I will come in and do everything I can to make sure we win a game, and take it one game at a time. ‘
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