BOSTON -- Even after the Boston Celtics signed Al Horford this past summer, the bigger storyline was the one that got away. Even as Horford has distinguished himself early in his Boston tenure, the bigger talking point seems to be how the Celtics still need that other piece to truly elevate to title contender status.
So maybe it's fitting that, on the night the Celtics hosted DeMarcus Cousins, one of the league's most talented big men and someone whose name invariably is invoked in speculation about Boston's potential trade targets, Horford turned in his loudest performance of the season.
Horford scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals over 36 minutes during Boston's 97-92 triumph over the Sacramento Kings at TD Garden. It was Horford's final block -- a smothering of Cousins on a 3-point attempt with five seconds remaining in a one-possession game -- that sealed a win that Boston needed after a frustrating loss to the Detroit Pistons earlier in the week.
The Celtics are 6-3 in the nine games that Horford has played this season, his impact on the team undeniable on both ends of the floor. Horford's contributions tend to float quietly below the radar, but after a quiet game Wednesday against the Pistons in which he posted just five field goal attempts, Horford responded with a night in which he didn't just put up big numbers but spent much of his time trying to limit Cousins.
"[Horford is] a hell of a player at both ends of the floor," Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas said. "And he played a hell of a game."
The Celtics were clinging to a three-point lead with little more than a minute to play when Horford caught the Kings in a switch. Taking a feed beyond the 3-point arc and with Cousins scrambling out to contest, Horford hit his fourth triple of the night (one short of his career high).
The Kings had a chance to tie it in the final seconds when Cousins made a curious choice to try to force up a 3 rather than look for a better shot. Taking the inbounds pass a couple of steps beyond the 3-point arc in front of the Boston bench, Cousins attempted to lean into Horford with hopes of drawing a shooting foul. Instead, Horford swallowed up the shot and emerged with the ball, drawing a foul that helped him ice the game.
"Not let him get a 3 -- that was the whole thing," Horford said. "I know he tried to draw something there, but I just stayed solid and didn't let him get a shot off."
With his six-block night, Horford became the NBA's unofficial leader in blocks at 2.9 per game, sitting ahead of more noteworthy shot-swatters such as New Orleans' Anthony Davis (2.7), Utah's Rudy Gobert (2.5) and Miami's Hassan Whiteside (2.4).
Desperate for a rim protector when they inked Horford to a four-year, $113 million contract this summer, the Celtics were hopeful he could shore up the back line. Horford may not be the prototypical 7-footer, but he's given Boston its best shot-deterer since Kevin Garnett. As Thomas noted, "We knew when we recruited him that’s what he was good at. Even when he doesn’t block shots, he alters shots and changes them."
Boston owns a defensive rating of 101.1 when Horford is on the floor. That mark would rank the team just outside the top five in the NBA this season. In the league basement in defensive rating after some early-season struggles, the Celtics slowly are climbing back up and now rank 18th at 104.7.
Coach Brad Stevens joked that, after competing against Horford 10 times last season, he had a pretty good idea that Horford would positively impact a Celtics defense that many expected to be among the league's best this season.
"He was terrific in our [playoff] series [vs. Atlanta]. Terrific," Stevens said of Horford. "And so, we played him 10 times last year. I think I’m an idiot, but after 10 times I had at least an idea. He’s all over the place and he covers a lot of ground. He calls out calls and I think he’s a competitive guy. And that’s proof in his winning track record."
Horford has missed 10 games, including nine while working his way back from a concussion suffered in late October. That Boston is 5-5 without him speaks a bit to his importance. Horford's base stat line won't leap off the page: 15.3 points per game on 53.3 percent shooting with 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 blocks over 32.4 minutes. You have to dig deeper for Horford's impact.
Like how Horford ranks sixth in the NBA in screen assists (a hustle stat that logs how often a screener immediately leads to a teammate's field goal). Or how Horford ranks near the top of the league in loose balls recovered and contested two-point shots. All these little things add up with Horford, who simply makes Boston a better team when he's on the floor.
Horford owns a team-best net rating of plus-11.5 (that includes a crisp offensive rating of 112.6, which is six points higher than the team's season average). What's more, Boston's net rating is a team-worst minus-2.6 when Horford is off the court.
Put in basic terms: The Celtics are a team-best plus-68 in plus/minus with Horford on the court; they're a team-worst minus-52 when he's off.
Cousins worked for his numbers against Horford on Friday night. He finished with a game-high 28 points, but needed 26 shots to get there (making only 10, many of which came against Boston's other bigs). Cousins had nine rebounds, a manageable number when you consider the damage that most big men have done against the undersized Celtics.
Horford acknowledged a need to maintain a heightened offensive presence, but both he and Stevens were adamant that the Celtics didn't do anything different to generate him opportunities Friday. Indeed, Horford passed the ball on his first few touches of the game, finally getting aggressive when Boston's ball movement generated quality looks.
Horford said he's still trying to get comfortable with his new team. He's still finding his spots. If this is the sort of impact that he's capable of making while still trying to find his role, that's a very encouraging sign for the Celtics further down the road -- even if they don't add that other superstar.
