Robb: Rockets loss again shows Celtics need All-Star Al Horford back

HOUSTON -- When it comes to All-Star players, Al Horford’s box score production is about as modest as you are going to ever see in the NBA for a player given that honor. His value goes far beyond what shows up on the stat sheet, whether that’s anchoring a league-leading defense, setting smart, solid screens or initiating the Celtics offense with his passing ability. It’s why the Eastern Conference coaches elected him to his fifth All-Star game as a reserve in January.

All of the said skills make him worthy of the four-year max contract the Celtics gave him two summers ago, which pays him $27.7 million this season. Still, a lot of fans (understandably) think that’s a lot of money for a guy that is only averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Horford has struggled to hit those numbers lately, however.

While the Celtics may be finding their stride after the All-Star break as a team, one player who seems to be taking a bit of step back is Horford. He struggled throughout Saturday’s 123-120 loss to the Rockets on Saturday night, particularly on the offensive end. Horford shot just 4-of-12 from the field, turned the ball over a team-high three times and was a team-worst minus-22.

No sequence was worse for the All-Star than his missed bunny in the lane with 22 seconds remaining, followed by a pass to no one after grabbing the offensive rebound, spoiling the C’s last best chance to tie up the game in the final minute.



Despite the rough performance, Horford really doesn’t deserve heat for a bad game here. He took high-percentage looks as always and they just didn’t go down. This open missed 3-pointer with just under two minutes remaining was a great read by him and a great play call by Stevens. He’s a 43 percent shooter this year from downtown.



“You take that 100 times out of 100,” Stevens said after the game.

Stevens was trying to call a timeout on Horford’s offensive rebound on the prior play but the ref didn’t give it to him. Still, to his credit, Horford took the heat for the team’s struggles down the stretch as they blew a six-point lead with under four minutes remaining with miscues on both ends of the floor. Horford also failed to contest a couple of Harden drives well in the paint.

“It was tough for me,” he explained. “I felt like I had a couple good looks there in the last minute and a half. Just really mad about that. I missed those shots that I feel confident in making, so this is a tough one for me personally. I felt like if I would have knocked one of those shots down, it would have been different. Then, I turned the ball over on the floor at the end. I'm really going to look at this one and learn and be better from it.”

The 31-year-old also explained his rationale on the ill-advised turnover in the paint.

“Honestly, I really thought they were going to call a travel on me because I was on the floor and rolling around,” he said. “It happened too quick. I should have kept my composure and probably called a timeout. I felt like coach was calling a timeout but I should have kept my composure a little better. I take the blame for that.”

The more troubling trend from the Celtics standpoint has to be with Horford’s all-around production beyond Saturday night. Despite his career-high shooting accuracy from 3-point range, the veteran’s numbers have been trending downwards. He has scored 10 points or less in six of his past eight games and he’s shooting a team-low 31 percent from the field since returning from the All-Star Break.

Those numbers are concerning due to where those attempts are coming from on the floor. Horford is shooting 35 percent from 3-point range over that span, so it’s his (usual) high-percentage attempts from inside the arc that aren’t falling. He’s hitting a paltry 28 percent of his shots from 2-point range over the past five games (8-of-28). It’s not just the scoring that’s been on the decline either. His rebounds (6.3) and assists (3.5) per game averages were well below his season averages in the month of February. He looks a step slow and hesitant at times and the Celtics can’t rebound as a team when he’s playing center (which has been an issue since he signed in Boston).

A look at his numbers last season indicates this is the worst slump Horford’s experienced in a Celtic uniform. The only time he scored in single digits in five-straight games during the 2016-17 campaign, he quickly followed that up by sitting out a couple of games with a sore elbow. There's no sign (for now) that an injury is hampering the big man.

Still, these production problems haven’t come to the forefront yet, largely due to the superb play of the bench over the past couple weeks. With the reserves picking up the offensive slack, the Celtics are finding ways to win without Horford playing at his best.

“Our bench was amazing,” Horford said. “Greg (Monroe) had a dominant game and (Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris), and Terry (Rozier) were very aggressive. That's very encouraging for all the Celtics fans and for us, because we can really depend on those guys and I believe those guys are going to keep playing at a high level. It's just a matter of time before we all click.”

However, with just 18 games remaining in the regular season, the C’s need Horford to show signs he's breaking out of this funk and they need to help him with that process. Whether it’s additional rest during games (made possible now by the addition of Monroe to the bench) or giving him some games off (to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoff drive), this group can’t go far this postseason if Horford stays in this rut. Benching him late in games needs to be considered if he keeps playing like he has over the past couple weeks, especially if other reserves are having strong nights.

Horford was the team’s best player during their run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and this year’s group can go even further if he gets back to that level. With the team’s other pieces falling nicely into place, it’s time for Horford to follow suit.