After beating the Nets 109-103 in the third game of the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics have taken a big 3-0 lead, and in the history of the NBA, any team that has taken a 3-0 lead has finally completed the promotion, and by this time, basically no one believes that the Nets can complete the reversal, and more people even begin to doubt whether the Nets can win the next playoff game, because in terms of the current mental outlook of the two teams, it is not a level at all.
Compared with the Nets' sluggishness, the Celtics side can be described as morale is high, the whole people are soldiers, and every round is very desperate. This is evident in veteran Al Horford. In this game, Horford played 28 minutes, 2 shots 1, got 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, although the data is not outstanding, but Horford's value is not fully reflected in the data, especially on the defensive end, he desperately defends Durant's momentum, affecting the whole team.
As early as the end of the first match between the two sides, Durant said in an interview that Horford had caused him great trouble in defense: "They always surrounded me. I saw that Al-Horford would sometimes even run up to me and interfere with me, ignoring the people he was staring at. ”
After today's game, Tatum also praised Horford's efforts on the defensive end, Tatum said: "We are the hardest team in the league, from the starter to the last on the bench, we are always supporting each other. When you see Al Horford on the pitch, there's no reason why Jaylen Brown and I shouldn't do it. ”
As a 35-year-old veteran, Horford is older than Durant, but in this series, his enthusiasm and hard work, and the vitality shown are all better than Durant. In the three playoff games, Horford played 41 minutes, 32 minutes, 28 minutes, and the 41 minutes of the first game tired him enough, but he still tried to pinch Durant every round and interfere with the opponent's shooting, and this desire to win was undoubtedly moving. As for why Horford worked so hard, maybe it was because he had finally waited for an opportunity to prove himself.
Speaking of Horford, some people may only think that he is a relatively low-key star, but in fact, in the eyes of more people, he is a very soft player, the reason is that whether it is in the Hawks or Celtics, Horford can lead the team to play a very good record in the regular season, and the 2014-2015 season helped the Hawks win the first place in the East in the regular season. But as soon as the playoffs come, once they meet James' team, Horford's team will only be beaten.
According to statistics, Horford once faced James in the playoffs to reach a 13-game losing streak, before the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, Horford's playoff record against James was 1 win and 15 losses, and Horford's coach would also arrange him to defend Durant as he does now, let him defend James and complete the pinch, but in the face of James's terrifying basket impact ability and passing ability, Horford can be said to be helpless.
Because of this, even when Horford was selected as an All-Star, people still felt that he was too weak and a soft egg, but now it seems that perhaps it is not that Horford is too weak, but that James was too strong. Now 35-year-old Horford, has no longer the ability of the year, but against Durant, he played better than when he faced James, more relaxed, in fact, think about it, in these years, in addition to facing James and peak Howard will be frustrated, Horford really has not been afraid of other players in the East.