Exclusive: Al Horford on defending Giannis, Bucks prep and what's changed for Celtics this postseason

Ahead of the Celtics' second-round showdown with the Bucks, BostonSportsJournal.com caught up with arguably the most important piece of the Celtics roster for this series: Al Horford. The four-time All-Star reflects on what went right in the first round, how the Celtics are preparing for Giannis, starting five and lineup choices plus much more. 

BSJ: You are currently on pace to have the best rebounding postseason of your career at age 32 after some dominant work against the Pacers. Was that a point of emphasis for you heading into the series and what's key about trying to maintain that against the Bucks size? 

Horford: I think there are two things to that. One is playing with Baynes a lot. A lot of the time, he's doing a lot of the dirty work, moving, it kind of allows all of us to go in there and get those rebounds. It was also the way that the series was. I was in the paint a lot more than I normally am. I don't think people understand that a lot of times rebounding those, I'm out defending on the perimeter when the shot goes up or if I'm down low, I may be boxing out the bigger guy and someone else has to come get the rebound. I just think that's the way the series went. I also feel like in the playoffs, usually, everything is magnified, right? Those possessions become more important. I definitely think it was the style of the series was the reason why.

BSJ: You guys also had success rebounding with you at the center, something you guys have struggled with in years past. How encouraging was that? 

Horford: It was good. I think there was real attention to detail with that window. We knew how good Sabonis and Thad Young and all those guys were on the offensive glass. It was a big emphasis for us to get them off the glass and try to limit them to one shot.

BSJ: You and Aron Baynes had a lot of success together last year and down the stretch of the regular season as well. However, the Bucks really try to stretch out bigs with their shooters. What's the balance there of trying to maintain that chemistry and adapt to the opponent?

Horford: I think the strength of our team is that we are very adaptable. I'd say we are very adaptable and we have the ability to go small, to go big, and be efficient. That's one of the strengths of our group. Whether it's up to me playing at the 4 or the 5, I just think we can play both ways.

BSJ: Does Brad Stevens already know his plan of attack for you guys or does that formulate during the week when it comes to the starting five?

Horford: I think, the way that he sees it, he wants the group out there that is going to be the most successful. At this point of the season, it's whatever works best and finding that balance. I don't think he's decided yet. Throughout a couple days of practice here, we've just been guarding different ways how we would guard them and prepare for them. We won't know pretty until Saturday (how we will start).

BSJ: How taxing is it for you defensively to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo? Is it a big help when you have other guys on the roster (Semi Ojeleye) that can take that pressure off of you in stretches when it comes to your offense?

Horford: It is a challenge. The way that I look at it is and I think we kind of spoke about this last year and you have a guy like that, like LeBron, you understand that it's not a 1-on-1 matchup or situation. You have a primary defender on him, but as a team, we need to understand how we're guarding and the things we want to take away. He's an extremely good player and is the type of player that is very hard to contain individually. The way that we look into it is defending as a group.

BSJ: You have seemed to have some success in the post at the four. Does playing at power forward unlock more of your offensive game at times? 

Horford: For me, it's just adjusting to whether I'm playing the center or I'm playing the four. I really enjoy playing with Baynes. I also enjoy playing with Morris. It's different looks. It's a good problem for our group because Coach kind of gets to figure out what we need or what we're trying to accomplish. He'll fit it in that way.

BSJ: I guess the good news against the Pacers was that you guys had success no matter how you aligned the lineups with you at either spot?

Horford: I just think it's important that guys stay ready and take advantage of the opportunity. Like you said, Game 3 took advantage of that. In the last game, I felt like Gordon and Morris both flourished. It's just a testament to the depth of our group and it's good to see. I think it makes us that much tougher to predict as a team. That's kind of what you want. You want to keep the other team on their toes.

BSJ: How much of a chess match do you expect for in this series given all the lineup possibilities?

Horford: Obviously, the only thing we can do is prepare for what we know. We know the way that they play and the things they want to do. For us, it's really just understanding how we need to play and defensively, making sure everyone is on the same page in what we're trying to accomplish.

BSJ: Does it make a big difference to get a full week of rest ahead of Round 2 or would you prefer to stay in rhythm? How much does it change preparation?

Horford: It's huge. I never in my career have had this much time like we've had this year to rest and to prepare for a team and really understand what they are trying to do and really take the time. Normally in the past, it's one day and you play or two days. We're very lucky to have this time.

BSJ: Coaching staff must like it too, I would think.

Horford: I think Coach has a nice balance in how he approaches things. If it was up to him, I think he would play today. There's no question about that. I think that these first few days, we already got everything that we needed to get in. We feel like we are in a good place. At this point, it's continuing to hammer and review our gameplan.

BSJ: The original starting five made a return in Games 2-4 after being put on the shelf for most of the regular season. Do you think Brad was saving it for the postseason or was it just a matter of the need arising once Marcus Smart went down? 

Horford: I think that's what happened. I think it was kind of the opportunity. It was out of necessity this time. It's a big difference from where we were in September to now. There's just clear understanding from each individual, what to expect, what we need to do, how we need to play. It just makes everything easier. It took pretty much all season for us to get to this point. It was understanding how we were trying to play and what we were trying to do. We've moved in the right direction with that group.