NBA Notebook: Al Horford believes Thunder season set up success with Celtics

Brad Stevens' first move as president of the Celtics in 2021, trading Kemba Walker and a first-rounder for Al Horford, didn't seem significant at the time. Beyond moving on from Walker's sizable remaining contract as he succumbed to knee injuries late in his career, Horford's return looked more sentimental than a substantive addition. He made close to $30 million then, offsetting some of Walker's salary Oklahoma City took on in the deal. Horford arrived in Boston following a season where he appeared in only 28 Thunder games at 34 years old. 

Yet Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault still raves about the short time Horford spent there. The 76ers traded Horford to the Thunder with a first-rounder in a salary dump after he struggled to fit in alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid in his lone season there before Boston swept Philadelphia in the Bubble. The Thunder, finishing 22-50 in 2021, started focusing on rebuilding after a Bubble playoff appearance. Few noticed, but Horford scored double-figures in six of their first 10 games, helping them start 5-4. His next 10 game burst, after taking six nights off, saw him average 17.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 4.7 APG while shooting 45.5% from three. In small bursts, the old Horford returned with Oklahoma. The Celtics took note, and three seasons later, at 37, Horford won his first championship starting nearly every playoff game at center. 

"When he won a championship here, there was no one, I don't think I've been around, that I was happier to see win it," Daigneault said. "He's a champion, and he should have a championship ... it doesn't always work out like that. So I have great respect for Al. He was with us at a time of a lot of instability. It was COVID, it was the year after the Bubble, so it was shortened season. We had just completely flipped our team over, we made multiple trades in a very short period of time going into training camp and were starting our build. So it was kind of a weird time ... a new coaching staff in terms of our positions ... there were a lot of things you probably could've poked holes in. It was a very imperfect time and the thing that always stands out to me about him is he was never cynical, and the season's long, there are a lot of ups-and-downs ... and here's a guy that has played high level basketball, he's a veteran player ... it obviously wasn't a permanent situation, I think everybody was very clear on that, and yet he was so invested in our team ... always optimistic, always looking for solutions ... and it had a huge impact on the foundational year of the build." 

With the rejuvenated Celtics ascending into a potential dynasty and the Thunder emerging as their greatest challengers, Horford's last two teams appear on an NBA Finals collision course. And Boston still owes enormous gratitude to Oklahoma City for accepting a relatively modest pick, which became Alperen Şengün when the Thunder flipped it to Houston in a different trade, and taking on Walker's contract that would have remained prohibitive through 2023. The Thunder bought out Walker, and while he gave back $20 million, no team with any eye toward winning would've taken taking that cap hit across two seasons. The Thunder didn't prioritize that at the time, so Horford received an opportunity to take a step back, let the team's younger players develop and get himself right for his next opportunity.

While Horford clearly took advantage of playing few games in 2021, the longer offseason that followed without a postseason run and Oklahoma City's acclaimed medical staff, Horford revealed before Wednesday's game against the Thunder that he evolved on the floor in Oklahoma City as well. In the games that he played, Horford pulled from Daigneault's concepts in his first season as head coach and affirmed them. When the Celtics brought Horford back, he said he changed as a player compared to his first stint. 

"I think it was a lot of learning for me," Horford told Boston Sports Journal. "The way that Mark wants the team to play gave me an understanding of playing a different way, with the dribble-drive, dribble penetration, putting pressure on the defense, moving without the ball. Defensively, he wanted to do different things, so for me, it was a big learning experience. I felt refreshed to be there and continued to grow as a player. That's kind of the key, you always want to continue to grow and I felt like we had such a young group over there that I felt part of it too. I was learning just like they were." 

Horford's drives increased from 1.4 to 2.0 per game compared to his time in Philadelphia, but the more significant improvement came from playing off his teammate's drives. He still posted up as often as he did the year prior, but Horford increased his spot up opportunities from 2.5 to 3.3 per game. Where his Sixers shooting produced only 0.91 points per possession, the Thunder scored 1.15 PPP when Horford shot, finishing in the 80th percentile in the NBA. Horford struggled as a roller that season and his finishing around the rim began to tail off, so transitioning to a less involved offensive approach came at the perfect time before he reunited with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum entering their primes. 

They could do the heavy lifting that Horford once did in their earlier deep playoff runs while Horford complemented them offensively. Defensively, the Celtics received Horford's most pleasant surprise. After allowing 1.2 PPP in isolation on the Thunder, one of the worst marks in league, new head coach Ime Udoka started Horford next to Robert Williams III and planned to switch everything. That placed Horford on guards and wings around screens and resulted in one of the NBA's best defensive seasons in recent history. Horford anchored the defense at center for much of his first run to the NBA Finals with Williams III injured. Two years later, the Lakers tried attacking Horford with the second-most isolations that Second Spectrum recorded since 2013-14 in a single game. Horford limited LA to a staggeringly low 0.39 PPP in those possessions. At 38, he's still one of the best switching defenders in basketball. 

"I think (Oklahoma City) was definitely refreshing for me," Horford said. "I think it gave me a different perspective ... I think it was all for the positive." 

The Thunder -- despite losing a veteran who went on to play such a valuable factor in three seasons atop the NBA, two including Finals runs and a championship while receiving little back in the deal -- still look back fondly at the experience. Sure, they still have Philadelphia's top-six protected first round pick from the initial move to absorb Horford's contract, but several young players Horford played alongside and mentored, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams, now play sizable roles on a team that's running, defending and scoring enough to dream that they could defeat the Celtics in a potential Finals series. They won both regular-season games decisively over the defending champs. 

Gilgeous-Alexander is now the favorite to win the NBA MVP. Dort will make an all-defensive team with his incessant physicality. Williams, despite numerous offers over the years by rivals to acquire him, remained and still gives the Thunder quality minutes off the bench. GM Sam Presti's drafting added Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and others as droves of picks await to supplement the roster that already appears championship worthy through more drafting or trades. He didn't even need to include one to acquire Alex Caruso from the Bulls over the summer, and having them as flexibility for a small market team in the prohibitive second apron era gives the Thunder a leg up on the rest of the league. 

"They're a very good team," Horford said. "On the offensive end, they know how to execute and attack, and they know their strengths, and defensively, they did a lot of really good stuff that game at taking our stuff away. Just really impressed with what coach Daignault has done there and those guys seem to continue to take steps up, Shai and Lu Dort and those guys. They continue to get better and they continue to be more solid and it was a good, hard-fought game. They just continue to improve on their foundation, their defensive identity, I think the playoffs were really good for them last year. I felt like they got some good experience off of that and obviously, they're handling this season much better because of it." 

The Celtics continue using Horford in the mold of how the Thunder transitioned him to a different phase of his career. He never plays back-to-backs anymore, Boston recently snuck in some rest nights outside of those situations and he learned to manage the regular season, showing out on the biggest stages like Saturday night's win over the Lakers, and maintaining his best form for the playoffs. Beyond the winning in Boston, it easily became home again for his family, who spent three years there from 2016-19. Horford's 10-year-old son Ean appears on the sideline for most home games, handing out towels, passing to dad before games and following him through the TD Garden tunnels. He even joined Horford last week in Miami and swarmed Derrick White with the rest of the team after a big fourth-quarter shot forced a Heat timeout. The rest of his family awaits Horford's greeting after home games near the tunnel. 

That Horford can balance his time as a father with his continued playing career allowed him to aspire for more seasons beyond this one. That wasn't possible in Oklahoma City during COVID, where his siblings never visited and family only occasionally went to games. Multiple reports in recent years pointed toward him having no plans or thoughts about retirement, and with his skill set still unique compared to even younger center prospects, there's not much hope for the Celtics replacing Horford. When he left, the only way to find the next Horford was bringing him back. Their best shot at filling his role beyond this season is returning him on a new contract; he's a free agent this summer. Perhaps as a two-time Celtics champion. 

"Personally, for me, (Horford's someone) I've always appreciated, because it was at a time when I was brand new and trying to establish myself with our team and he only made that easier," Daignault said. "So, obviously, I have nothing bad to say about Al." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (32-35): They're 10-10 since Jalen Johnson (shoulder) went down for the season, down from the potentially threatening team they looked like earlier in the season, but not that far. The Hawks continue to be who they've been, an offense hovering around top-10 status around Trae Young's creation abilities and a bottom-tier defense. That'll hover them around .500 for the rest of the season and inevitably put them in position to potentially play the Celtics in the first round. Basketball Reference currently gives the Hawks a 38.9% chance to finish as the seventh seed, and a 56.9% probability of finishing seventh with an 8-8 finish, almost certainly placing them in the play-in bracket that's one win from Boston. The Hawks stole two wins at Boston in November and January, but with Johnson available as a significant scoring engine and rebounding force. 

Boston (49-19): Jrue Holiday improved to 39% from three in four games since returning from his right pinkie mallet finger injury, doing the Dr. Evil celebration with his splint after sinking 5-of-8 from three over the Heat on Friday. Jaylen Brown rested despite saying his struggles against Oklahoma City didn't stem from apparent discomfort he's played through, Boston listing him out with a right knee posterior impingement. He left Saturday's win at Brooklyn with back spasms. Kristaps Porziņģis missed an eighth straight game with an illness that he revealed in a tweet during Monday's win at the Jazz is one that doctors hadn't identified. Porziņģis' ramp-up process became the hurdle in his return, which came on Saturday against the Nets with 24 points on 9-for-9 shooting inside the arc. Porziņģis had hoped to return last Saturday against the Lakers, but fatigue following his participation in a practice earlier in the week and a failed pre-game warmup prevented him from doing so. He told reporters in Brooklyn that he suffered an upper respiratory illness that became bronchitis. It's possible, he said, that he continues to ride ups-and-downs in his recovery through the coming weeks. 

According to Sportico, The Friedkin Group, Philadelphia Phillies minority owner Stan Middleman and Symphony Technology Group managing partner William Chisholm are among the groups that remain engaged in bidding for the Boston Celtics. Steve Pagliuca's inside group is reportedly favorited to buy the team. 

Brooklyn (22-45): Had lost two straight and 9-of-10 entering Saturday afternoon's loss to the Celtics. Cam Thomas (hamstring) will miss the rest of the season, the team announced. That left D'Angelo Russell and Cam Johnson to lead the first half of a home-and-home with the Celtics on Saturday and Tuesday with a Hawks-Nets game in between, hence the rest. The Nets ranked 27th in offense and 23rd in defense after a promising start, but boasted a competitive -1.3 first quarter net rating that they mirrored before falling behind by 21 points in the second quarter. Brooklyn made 20 threes, and nearly got off a half court game-winner off before the buzzer after a late comeback attempt. 

Cleveland (56-10): Winners of a franchise record 16 straight and closing in on officially clinching the east's top seed. They're 2.0 games ahead of the Thunder for home court throughout the entire playoffs, and have inched back toward 70-win pace, with only the 2016 Warriors and 1996 Bulls reaching that threshold previously. They'd tie the 1972 Lakers and 1997 Bulls with 69 wins, which they'd need to close 13-3 to accomplish. Their final West Coast trip will likely decide whether they go all-in toward joining history's best teams, or begin resting for the playoffs with their seed already cemented. They visit the Clippers, Kings, Suns, Jazz and Blazers starting on Tuesday. Kenny Atkinson downplayed the team chasing wins records earlier this season, but this run has seemingly happened organically. It's time to start seriously thinking about this group as a Finals team. They're 2.8 points per 100 possessions better than the Celtics' offense (No. 1) and seventh in defense. History says that kind of team can win a championship. 

Dallas (33-35): Barely hanging on as the west's 10 seed after losing 8-of-10 with only 1.5 games over the Suns now. They're 1-5 since Kyrie Irving went down and somehow lost Olivier-Maxence Propser for the season after their other onslaught of injuries. Worse, owner Patrick Dumont's statements from last month at a Bank of Texas event about the Luka Dončić trade surfaced with a focus on the future and courting the most competitive team possible. He explained the fear that their lineup of Irving, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and others could put into opponents, and while there's some sense of what could've been this season, the team's late season collapse will make it even harder to sell fans on what's next. 

“For us going into the trade deadline last year, we were not competitive, if you recall, we were not a playoff-bound team and we were able to do some things to reconstruct the roster and enable the team to become very competitive, and after the trade deadline last year, we actually had the best record in basketball. Which was a big accomplishment and we got to the championship games and we didn’t win and so we had to decide: how do we get better?" Dumont said. "What can we do to improve our team? And so we looked at our trajectory during the season and realized that we did not get better, but the teams that we competed against, some of which we beat, did get better. So this was a decision about the future. If you look at our roster today and who we have, we feel like we position ourselves to be incredibly competitive against the best teams in the NBA.”

Detroit (37-31): A Celtics-Pistons playoff series would've been surprising following Detroit's 14-68 season last year. It now appears improbable again, not because the Pistons won't make the playoffs, but they solidly rose out of the play-in field. Basketball Reference gives them a 64.9% chance of finishing as the east's six seed, with only a 5% probability of falling into the play-in tournament with a 5.0 game lead on seventh-seed Atlanta and 15 games remaining. That they're in this position, with a chance to leap as high as fourth in the east over the closing month, comes as an even greater surprise following Jaden Ivey's broken left fibula injury on New Year's Day. The team announced Ivey will miss the rest of the regular season this week, but Ivey, speaking for the first time since surgery, expressed hope he can aid a playoff run somehow. Ivey left his walking boot, started shooting, weight-bearing and some running progression activity. The team will further update his status in four weeks. The Pistons have won 22-of-35 since Ivey went down. 

Golden State (39-28): Steph Curry expanded his NBA career three-point record with his 4,000th make against the Kings this week while the Warriors' extended their winning streak to seven and are 14-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. He's averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 5.8 APG on 45.5% shooting while Steph Curry improved to 29.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 6.0 APG over that stretch while shooting 40.3% from three, clearly reinvigorated by Butler's arrival. Golden State moved into a tie with Minnesota for sixth in the west, only 2.5 games behind the Lakers, who just lost LeBron James for some time. An extended Warriors playoff run is back in play after they looked like they could miss the postseason entirely. Despite their success, they're trying to get a budding turnover issue, averaging 15.3 per game in March, under control. Jonathan Kuminga returned from the ankle injury that held him out since Jan. 4 against the Kings, scoring 18 points in 20 minutes on 7-for-10 shooting off the bench. 

Houston (43-25)/Phoenix (31-36): The two teams looking to get back on track with others injured in the west fought on Friday, Mason Plumlee ejected after he and Steven Adams tussled to the floor. The Rockets won their fifth straight game after losing 5-of-8. The Suns remain outside the west playoff picture, losing 15-of-21 going back to the start of February, but Dallas' injuries give them a wide-open path to the play-in tournament. Owner Mat Ishbia, addressing possible tweaks this summer, ruled out a Devin Booker trade ever happening while saying the star doesn't want one. With a Kevin Durant deal clearly explored at the deadline, the Rockets would seemingly be in position to offer Phoenix the most compelling package if Houston wants Durant. Most importantly, they now own the Suns' future draft picks from the Durant trade with Brooklyn, and Phoenix is currently 12th in the lottery. With some luck, the Rockets could end up offering the Suns' their valuable draft pick back. 

Lakers (40-25): The Celtics dominated the highly anticipated first meeting with the Lakers since Luka Dončić joined them, and despite Dončić piling up 34 points late, Jaylen Brown made life difficult for him again in their first matchup since the Finals. Jayson Tatum poured in 40 to slam the door on LA's comeback attempt. LeBron James went down with a groin injury in the final minutes, and though he believed it wasn't as significant as the one that forced him to miss significant time like he did with past ones, he'll sit out at least two weeks. The Lakers' losing streak stretched to four games despite big Dončić games at Brooklyn and Milwaukee. LA prioritized rest at Denver, and still almost won, behind Austin Reaves' 37 points, with room for error to prioritize health. JJ Redick said on Friday that James, Jaxson Hayes (knee) and Rui Hachimura (ankle) are close to returning, the latter two missing the loss at Boston. 

Miami (29-38): Fared better with strong games from Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins, but the Heat closed 5-of-20 in the fourth quarter and lost for the 10th time over their last 11 games against the Celtics since beating them in the 2023 East finals. Bam Adebayo scored seven points and Miami fell to 4-13 since Wiggins arrived to replace Jimmy Butler. They fell to 23rd in offense and 13th in defense over that stretch after losing twice to Boston resting multiple players in moderately close games that the Heat never had a chance to close. Miami fell to ninth in Friday's loss and their chances of reaching the first round against the Celtics fell to 22.7%, but they're in the mix alongside Atlanta and Orlando to face Boston for the fourth straight postseason. Terry Rozier did not play due to a coach's decision after his worst season since 2017 continued trending downward. 

Minnesota (39-29): Look like they're back in the mix with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo healthy, Randle averaging 19.3 PPG on 51.7% shooting in seven wins since his return. The Wolves have won 12 straight games with Randle in the lineup while DiVincenzo has shot 49.3% from deep on 7.7 attempts per game since his return while also adding defensive energy and versatility. HoopsHype reported that the Wolves aggressively pursued Kevin Durant before the deadline, but refused to include Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. They're poised to revisit those talks this summer, with Randle and DiVincenzo headlining a potential package. 

New Orleans (18-50): Nobody's paying much attention to them for obvious reasons, but Zion Williamson looks visibly skinnier and has played in 21 of 28 games since Jan. 12, averaging 24.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.3 SPG on 59.4% shooting. He's closer to the player who looked like he could lead a contender in 2021. The thought that they'll have relatively high odds at landing Cooper Flagg or another top prospect, along with their strong drafting history, warrants some attention entering 2025-26. 

New York (42-24): Mikal Bridges became the first Knicks player to acknowledge that playing enormous minutes under Tom Thibodeau hasn't been fun on their bodies. That Bridges, who's never missed an NBA game since entering the league in 2018, would bring up the burden of playing time should speak volumes as Thibodeau approaches a make-or-break postseason with his talented roster. Last year, injuries doomed their wide-open path to the east finals and this season, Bridges ranks first in minutes, Josh Hart sits at third while OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson fit into the top-25. Only Denver has that many players on the same list, another team overly reliant on their starters, but Bridges made the argument that New York has bench players who can shoulder a greater load, including Mitchell Robinson returning from injury. Thibodeau and Bridges reportedly discussed the issue before Bridges hit a game-winning three over Portland in an overtime win. On Friday, Thibodeau and Hart engaged in a shouting match in a timeout -- a bad sign for Thibs.

Oklahoma City (55-12): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-dueled Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown again with 34 points, five rebounds and seven assists as the Thunder led for most of their win at the Celtics. Chet Holmgren started at center with Isaiah Hartenstein coming off the bench for the win, the Thunder pivoting away from the double-big they've used on most nights recently. That lineup has yielded big nights from three to opponents, the likely reason for Mark Daignault's adjustment that also allowed Holmgren to pile up 23 points and 15 rebounds on a smaller Boston lineup without Kristaps Porziņģis. Brown struggled immensely in the Celtics loss, shooting 5-of-15 and taking blame for the loss after while Boston also received little from Jrue Holiday, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, who have all struggled in the matchup. Gilgeous-Alexander didn't back away from calling their pair of wins over the defending champions significant, and another round of games in June feels almost inevitable between these two. Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso missed the game, Williams not traveling on the team's east coast swing after suffering a hip injury earlier in the week. He missed Saturday's win at Detroit as well. 

Philadelphia (22-44): Signed Long Island Nets wing and former Celtic Oshae Brissett to a 10-day contract as Paul George appears on the verge of missing the rest of the season to address groin and knee ailments, which limited him alongside a hurt finger this season in a massive regression from his Clippers productivity. George and doctors will likely decide on his path ahead early next week with the 76ers' season effectively over and shifting toward positioning themselves to keep their top-six protected first-round pick away from the Thunder. Brissett averaged 12.1 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 12 games with Long Island, shooting 34.2% from the field and 26.5% from three. The Sixers are under investigation again, this time for Tyrese Maxey, Embiid and George's availability this year relating to the player participation policy. The league is also assessing other team's potential violations. 

Utah (15-52): Will Hardy shared an interesting perspective on the challenge in deciding whether to defend Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum straight-up or with crowds and help before the Celtics beat the Jazz without Tatum, 114-108, as part of their current eight-game losing streak. 

“There aren’t a lot of good choices,” Hardy said. “I think especially in a regular season game, one game, anything can happen. If it was a series, maybe you’d feel differently about playing something out a little longer and hoping the stats come back to where they should be. Because there are nights where you could get tripped either way. You could send help and they shoot it great, and you’re like, ‘man we shouldn’t have helped,’ or we could help with everybody tonight, and for whatever reason they could have a night where they miss 40 threes. It doesn’t mean it was necessarily the right choice. Playing a team like the Celtics is taxing in that way.”

They host the Celtics again on Friday at 9:30 EST as Boston begins a six-game road trip against the Western Conference. Lauri Markkanen returned to the lineup later this week after missing the Celtics game, the league fined the Jazz for his repeated absences. Former Celtic Svi Mykhailiuk received his 2024 championship ring in a brief ceremony before Monday's game, becoming the final member of last year's team to do so. Jaden Springer, who signed a long-term deal with Utah after his trade to and release from the Rockets last month, did not play in his return to Boston. He said Brad Stevens gave him a heads-up that the Celtics were looking to trade him, which he appreciated. 

Washington (14-51): Bilal Coulibaly will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring right hamstring injury. He averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.4 APG on 42.1% shooting while becoming the Wizards' most intriguing prospect in year two at age 20. Marcus Smart turned 31 earlier this month, and is averaging 10.9 PPG on 46.6% shooting off the bench for his new team (39.4% 3PT). Of course, he was part of their scuffles with the Pistons this week. Washington is 5-4 over the last nine games with Smart available.