PHILADELPHIA – Marcus Smart laughed back then He watched the video on Friday. It made him laugh to see Al Horford barking at a TV reporter who dared to laugh after the big man described himself as an elite marksman. But Smart had another reason to appreciate the interaction. He could feel the sharpness in Horford’s reply. Smart guessed what the exchange would produce.
“I laughed,” Smart told The Athletic. “And then I was like, ‘Ohhh, thanks.’ Because now you want to get elite shooter Al. I’ll tell you. He was due for something, a perfect game, after someone thought he wasn’t an elite shooter. You’d think (everyone) would know. Al doesn’t say much, but if he does speak up, you better take[his word]on it.”
After the Celtics’ 114-102 win in Game 3, giving them a 2-1 lead over Philadelphia in a second-round series, Smart looked over at Horford in camouflage attire. Acting like a sniper, Smart knelt on the ground and grabbed an imaginary weapon. Mimicking the act of pulling a trigger multiple times, Smart pretended to hit a target repeatedly, much like Horford did as he drilled five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points. Before he got up, Smart added sound effects to punctuate his performance.
“Bang bang baby,” Smart said.
Bang, bang. That’s how Horford tore up his former team on Friday night. His final 3-pointer splattered through the net with 3:25 left, extending the Celtics’ lead to seven points after Philadelphia had crept to four. Smart said he could see the 76ers players deflating immediately after the bucket. They had been battling to stay a double-digit deficit all quarter. They had even previously forced a miss in possession but Smart tapped the rebound to Malcolm Brogdon who eventually overplayed it to Horford. The center faked a pass to create space between himself and defenseman De’Anthony Melton, then kicked into the long jump he’d drilled in so many big moments over the years.
“It was huge,” Smart said. “It was all. You could see it on their faces, when the shot went in their body language showed it went in and that shot hurt. Al has been doing this for years. He’s been doing this for us for a long time, winning us games like this and opening the floor for us. That’s what happens when you’re an elite shooter.”
It is no coincidence that Smart used this term.
Bang, bang. That’s how Horford fired back at the reporter earlier in the day. When Horford smiled while describing himself as an elite marksman, the reporter took the remark as light-hearted and began to laugh. He thought he was laughing with Horford, not at him, but Horford seemed to take the reaction as an insult. He was quick to resist the idea that he didn’t deserve the label he was giving himself.
“You’re laughing,” Horford said. “You don’t think I’m an elite marksman? My numbers don’t support that?”
Though Horford usually comes across as a buttoned-up veteran, his fighting spirit burns as hot as any. Every once in a while – usually in the playoffs – he unleashes the more aggressive side of his personality. The side that clings to slights. That can turn a giggle into motivation. That drove him enough to remain a key starter on a championship-contesting team at the age of 36, and to be a major contributor to winning teams throughout his career.
The ferocity came out during last season’s playoffs after Giannis Antetokounmpo followed up a big dunk by glaring at Horford. By nodding his head to Antetokounmpo several times, Horford let it be known that he didn’t like the gesture. A minute later, Horford burst past the two-time MVP for a thunderous dunk and the foul. He finished the game with 30 points and an important road win. revenge accomplished.
During Boston’s first-round winners against Atlanta that season, Horford celebrated a clutch shot with added momentum. He later revealed that someone on the sidelines was talking trash to him.
“There are some people you can talk trash to,” Horford said. “Talk to me about trash, it’s probably not good for you.”
The other Celtics know Horford’s makeup well. They always believe in him, but Smart said defiance can take him to another level.
“We embrace and lure the naysayers,” Smart said. “It gives him even more momentum in his step. And that will only help us.”
Smart said that before Horford’s big night. Smart saw it coming. Horford actually missed his first 3-point attempt early in the first quarter, leaving him just 2 to 13 on long-distance attempts throughout the series, but quickly chased another opportunity. He conceded that one and then sunk another with just 0.3 seconds remaining in the second quarter to extend the Celtics’ lead to seven points. Horford never missed again. He made all three shots after half-time, each behind the archway. The first extended Boston’s lead to 10 points early in the third quarter. The second, later in the same period, came after a Philadelphia run cut the lead to two points. Horford’s shot started a 14-5 surge that allowed Boston to enter the fourth quarter with an 88-77 lead. The third Horford 3 pointer of the second half cut off the 76ers’ final threat. After his shot took the Celtics’ lead to seven points, they led the rest of the way by at least six points.
In a dirty victory marked by a series of timely shots, Horford sank a number of them.
“I think he definitely takes some things to heart,” Smart said. “I know I do. I think as a competitor you have to take a few things to heart to get that extra fuel.”
The opponent in this series could also charge Horford’s battery. After leaving the Celtics to sign a four-year deal with Philadelphia in 2019, Horford suffered a difficult season with the 76ers. In those days, he later said, he vowed to prove all his critics wrong. He could still play at a high level. He could still lift a team. The fit didn’t work out in Philadelphia, but he believed he wasn’t too old or too creaky at all.
Three years after his last game with the 76ers, Horford is still proving it. Since the Celtics reclaimed him in June 2021, he has shaped their style of play on both sides of the court. In this series, he’s spent some time guarding MVP Joel Embiid while also switching to backup defender mode when given another assignment. If the Celtics instead use perimeter players on Embiid, Horford will need to know when to switch to help and when to send a doubles team. The Celtics wanted to be unpredictable. On a possession, Smart defended Embiid chest-to-chest throughout the court, then took out Embiid as soon as the big man appeared on the block. Horford rushed over to take the matchup at that point, but Smart soon returned to throw a doubles team to Embiid. The schemes were complicated.
“We do a lot of different things out there,” Horford said.
James Harden defeated Horford for a go-ahead bucket late in Game 1, but the Celtics defense has risen since.
At the other end of the field, it’s crucial for them to have a strong man who can pull Embiid away from the basket. Horford, who spent years expanding his range and developing a faster release, can now do it as well as anyone his size. He shot 44.6 percent on 3-point attempts during the regular season, just short of the best percentage in Celtics franchise history (he finished second best). In the middle, his shot from the outside has become a weapon that allows him to age gracefully even when his production inside the bow has dwindled. Even after Horford went 1-8 on a Game 2 win from 3-point range, Joe Mazzulla cited the number of tries as a plus for the Celtics.
“Yeah (it’s important against Embiid) but it’s important in any series,” Mazzulla said after Game 3. “I love it when Al shoots the ball and shoots it with confidence and not hesitating. We need him to be aggressive and confident. He’s a big part of our team, our dressing room, everything. So I think he’s really good looking and I don’t think he’s hesitating. That’s good.”
Or, some would say, elite. The other Celtics took note of the exchange of fire between Horford and the reporter. Mazzulla made sure to use the phrase “elite shooter” while complimenting Horford during a brief speech in the dressing room after the game. Tatum championed his teammate in an impassioned explanation of how Horford’s knight unlocks Boston’s offense.
“Whoever laughed at him earlier, shame on you,” Tatum said. “Al is definitely an elite shooter. He was and proved that and he’s so important to what we’re trying to achieve as a team. How he changed his game from the early days of his career to today, being a knockdown shooter, being someone who really makes offense special. You got me out of there, you did (Jaylen Brown), but what really helps us is Al’s ability to spread the floor. You have to worry about us going to the basket. If you want to help us, we’ve got shooters all over the place, and Al’s taking big shots and making big shots. So I have all the trust in the world in Al, whenever he’s out there, whenever he’s got the ball, whenever he’s shooting.”
It didn’t seem to matter if the reporter’s laugh was actually disrespectful. Horford seemed to take it, so did the rest of the Celtics. He was back in Philadelphia, where he had once promised himself he wouldn’t stay down there forever. A few days away from poor shooting performance, he would not brook any perceived doubts about his abilities. Smart, who later watched the clip of the exchange, could see Horford was ready to prove himself again.
“I loved it,” Smart said. “I loved it down to the last detail.”
In a game that promised to shift control of the series, Smart had faith in what Horford would do next.
“We call him OG for a reason,” Smart said. “He is always in the right place at the right time and makes the right play every time. He’s been doing this for a very long time.”
(Top Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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