<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-secret-extending-nba-career');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford reveals secret to extending NBA career with Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Al-Horford-reveals-secret-to-extending-NBA-career.jpg"></figure><h1>Al Horford reveals secret to extending NBA career with Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T11:51:05-08:00">December 18th, 11:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T11:51:05-08:00">December 18th, 11:51am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>BOSTON — Boston Celtics center Al Horford is the perfect example of basketball adaptation. In the modern NBA, where most players won’t last long if they can’t shoot the ball, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-al-horford-gets-painfully-honest-on-nba-future-beyond-2024-25">Horford has survived and thrived</a> despite coming up in an era when three-pointers were much less common.</p><p>Two decades ago, Horford was a freshman with the Florida Gators, a team who only operated inside the arc, which led to him attempting zero triples in his inaugural season. During his next two successful years, which saw Horford win back-to-back national championships, he never made a three-pointer. That trend carried into the NBA, as Horford didn’t hit any threes as a rookie with the Atlanta Hawks.</p><p>Since Horford stands at 6-foot-9, this isn’t surprising. Big men weren’t expected to be perimeter threats at the time. However, basketball has evolved, and so has the reigning NBA champion.</p><p>Through 26 games, Horford has attempted 101 triples—a large share of his 137 field goal attempts. The 38-year-old has converted on 46.7% of his 3-pointers as well, which is the 47th-best rate in the NBA for players with over 60 attempts from outside the arc.</p><p>Horford knows his much-improved three-point shot has allowed him to stay in the Association for a whopping 18 seasons.</p><p>“I believe that it, for me, physically added years to my career,” Horford said of his growth as a shooter during a Wednesday practice. “It’s been a great benefit.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford discussed the 3-point shot and how it’s taken over the NBA. Went on to say that his 3-pointer has “absolutely” extended his career <a href="https://t.co/K5tBHVqIyT">pic.twitter.com/K5tBHVqIyT</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1869431576398049531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Why Al Horford and the Celtics embody the NBA’s three-point trend</b></h2><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-gets-real-on-bostons-historic-3-point-shooting">three-pointer is especially vital to the Celtics</a>. Last season, the C’s led the league in three-point attempts en route to a title. This season, they’re putting up a high volume again with a league-leading 51.1 shots per game from behind the arc. The Chicago Bulls, who are second in three-point frequency, aren’t even averaging over 44 attempts. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-vs-celtics-prediction-odds-pick-12-19-2024">The Celtics coincidentally host the Bulls</a> at TD Garden on Thursday night.</p><p>“It’s the progression of the game. The evolution of the game,” Horford described. “My rookie year I would have never imagined—I would have never imagined 10 years ago—seeing that many 3-point shots being shot. It’s just the way the game is going.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford's 5th three pointer… </p><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@celtics</a> 15th three pointer…</p><p>There's still 6 minutes left in the 2nd quarter 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/SbmC6BlcaM">pic.twitter.com/SbmC6BlcaM</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1850325105286496589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Celtics have used their three-point dominance to their advantage, boasting a 21-5 overall record which is good for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In fact, the Green Team is on pace to shoot the most three-pointers in a single season in NBA history. This <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-kirk-goldsberry-game-changing-idea-limit-teams-3-point-dependency">significant rise in threes</a> from the Celtics (and most of the NBA) has prompted league commissioner Adam Silver to examine the trend and discuss <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43032741/adam-silver-looking-critiques-increased-3-point-volume" rel="noopener">its impact on the game</a> and viewers, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.</p><p>“I think the game is in a great place,” Silver stated on Tuesday. “Having said that, we’re constantly having discussions about whether there are ways to improve stylistically the game on the floor.”</p><p>For now, three-pointers aren’t going anywhere, especially when it’s increasingly common to see seven-footers launch triples from 30 feet away.</p><p>“At every position, as soon as you come into the league, guys are shooting them. They’re comfortable with them,” Horford commented. “Whereas before, guys had to develop it here, had to figure it out, or they didn’t shoot them as much or they weren’t as comfortable. But there was a lot of value in teams’ eyes with 3-point shooting. That’s just the evolution of the game.”</p><p>With the help of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-kenny-atkinson-identifies-factor-al-horford-longevity">former Hawks coaches Mike Budenholzer and Kenny Atkinson</a>, Horford developed into a legitimate three-point threat. The seventh-year Celtic never imagined that for his game, but he understands how the three-pointer has let him and other older centers delay retirement.</p><p>“You either stick to what you were doing before, and if we did, we probably weren’t going to be here much longer,” Horford admitted.</p><p>It’s adapt or die in the NBA, and Horford proves that. His resiliency, flexibility, and willingness to change alongside the game makes him an excellent example for up-and-coming players and must be mentioned when he inevitably becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford reveals secret to extending NBA career with Celtics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-quietly-joins-lebron-james-dirk-nowitzki-amazing-milestone');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford quietly joins LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki with milestone vs. Pistons');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Celtics-news-Al-Horford-quietly-joins-LeBron-James-Dirk-Nowitzki-with-milestone-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Al Horford quietly joins LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki with milestone vs. Pistons</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-05T01:02:32-08:00">December 5th, 1:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-05T01:02:59-08:00">December 5th, 1:02am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When it comes to be holding off Father Time, LeBron James is the unparalleled master in all of sports, never mind the NBA. Because of that fact, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-kenny-atkinson-identifies-factor-al-horford-longevity">the enduring Al Horford</a> does not always receive as much praise as he deserves. Though, the 38-year-old Boston Celtics big man is drawing plenty of attention following Wednesday’s 130-120 victory versus the Detroit Pistons.</p><p>Horford is breathing rarefied air, shared only by a Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever step on a basketball court. He scored 14 points while going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Those four 3-pointers earned him <a href="https://x.com/taylorcsnow/status/1864537808578154646" rel="noopener">a remarkable milestone</a>.</p><p>The five-time All-Star joins James and Dirk Nowitzki as the only NBA players in history to accumulate at least 8,000 rebounds, 1,000 blocks and 900 threes, according to Celtics reporter Taylor Snow. The Book of Horford is not just impressive; it remains compelling in chapter 18.</p><h2><b>Al Horford is an important part of the Celtics’ greatness</b></h2><p>Boston is trusting the savvy veteran to log almost 28 minutes per contest this season, which perfectly illustrates the valuable impact he is still adding in the twilight of his career. Horford is averaging 9.4 points on 40.7 percent 3-point shooting and 5.1 rebounds thus far. He sunk his 900th career long ball early in the third quarter, accomplishing the eye-catching feat in front of the home fans at TD Garden.</p><p>Al Horford still prides himself on his defense, but his shooting prowess best describes how he has been able to remain a fixture in the NBA during four different presidencies, and soon to be five. He adapted to the times and evolved his game, reinventing himself after his 29th birthday. The two-time national champion attempted only four 3-pointers in 109 games for the Florida Gators but is now attempting 5.4 per night.</p><p>With such determination, it is no wonder why he is one of the most respected men in the league today. Horford should have more opportunities to make history, but his main focus is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-3-reasons-still-team-beat-after-humbling-cavs">winning a second straight title</a> with Boston. The Celtics (18-4) next battle the Milwaukee Bucks (11-10) in an exciting Friday night matchup.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford quietly joins LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki with milestone vs. Pistons

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavaliers-news-kenny-atkinson-identifies-factor-al-horford-longevity');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson identifies key factor behind Al Horford’s longevity');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cavaliers-news-Kenny-Atkinson-identifies-key-factor-behind-Al-Horfords-longevity.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson identifies key factor behind Al Horford’s longevity</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-19T20:53:56-08:00">November 19th, 8:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-19T20:53:56-08:00">November 19th, 8:53pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As usual, Boston Celtics big man Al Horford was a crucial supporting piece in his team’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzulla-wish-boston-rivals-cavaliers-takedown">120-117 over the Cleveland Cavaliers</a> on Tuesday night. The 18th-year veteran scored 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting with seven rebounds, three blocks, and one assist across 32 minutes, and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson couldn’t help but admire his performance from the opposing bench.</p><p>Atkinson was asked if Horford’s <a href="https://x.com/JustinmTurpin/status/1859066579670950366" rel="noopener">longevity surprises him</a> after the game, via WEEI 93.7 FM’s Justin Turpin.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kenny Atkinson coached Al Horford in Atlanta 10+ years ago. I asked him postgame about Al’s longevity:</p><p>“The shooting piece is incredible. Before he needed time to get it off, now, he needs no time… It’s an incredible story. I love the guy. He’s the epitome of a professional.” <a href="https://t.co/oSwK4HMLBl">pic.twitter.com/oSwK4HMLBl</a></p><p>— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinmTurpin/status/1859066579670950366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“No, it doesn’t surprise me because of his elite approach to every day. I was around it, I saw it every day,” the 57-year-old said. “Probably the top of what I’ve seen in terms of taking care of his body, everything off the court, work ethic, hunger to improve. All the stuff that goes into longevity.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-name-hawks-assistant-kenny-atkinson-as-new-head-coach">Atkinson was an assistant coach</a> for the Atlanta Hawks when Horford played there from 2012-16, back when the Florida alum had an elongated jump shot. His form is smoother now, though, which is a big reason why he shot 4-of-5 from deep against Cleveland.</p><p>“The shooting piece is incredible. Before, he needed time to get it off, now he needs no time,” Atkinson continued. “He gets that thing off so quick. He’s improved that. It’s an incredible story, I love the guy, he’s the epitome of a great professional. Really happy for his success.”</p><p>Atkinson didn’t know at the time that he’d help develop a player that would eventually end his team’s undefeated run a decade later, but such is life in the NBA.</p><h2><b>Kenny Atkinson took accountability for Cavaliers’ first loss</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Darius-Garland-dribbles-Cavs-Celtics1.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cleveland still tops the league at 15-1, but it could have used a win against the defending champions to put the league on notice. The team did well to cut a 21-point deficit to two in the third quarter, but it shouldn’t have allowed Boston to dominate like that in the first place.</p><p>Atkinson <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/news/cleveland-cavaliers-head-coach-reacts-to-game-plan-in-boston-celtics-loss" rel="noopener">took accountability, though,</a> via Sports Illustrated’s Tommy Wild.</p><p>“It’s not on the players. It’s a game plan, too,” he said in the postgame presser. “I feel that’s a little bit on me, maybe not prepared enough for what they were throwing at us. We adjusted in the second half. Especially that big second quarter [from Boston] was too much to overcome.”</p><p>An age-old sports saying is that a team’s true character reveals itself in the face of adversity, and that applies to the head coach. Atkinson’s willingness to accept blame for the loss shows that he’s a true leader, which bodes well for the Cavaliers’ future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson identifies key factor behind Al Horford’s longevity

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-miss-first-game-season-but-theres-catch');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford to miss first game of season, but there’s a catch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Celtics-news-Al-Horford-to-miss-first-game-of-season-but-theres-a-catch.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford to miss first game of season, but there’s a catch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-01T10:25:42-07:00">November 1st, 10:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-01T10:25:42-07:00">November 1st, 10:25am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics are already <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-kristaps-porzingis-injury-timetable-joe-mazzulla-update-24-25">playing without big man</a> Kristaps Porzingis. Now, they have another big man on the injury report: Al Horford. The veteran won’t play on Friday night as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-vs-hornets-prediction-odds-pick-11-1-2024">Celtics face the Charlotte Hornets.</a> However, there’s no reason for Celtics fans to worry. According to Celtics PR, the veteran center is out due to “<a href="https://x.com/celtics/status/1852357808047476950" rel="noopener">load management</a>.” Whenever Boston has back-to-back games, Horford typically rests for at least one of the contests. This keeps the 38-year-old fresh and may explain why he’s participated in at least 63 games in each of his past three seasons.</p><p>Horford will sit Friday and likely play on Saturday night when the C’s face the Hornets again. He’ll join Porzingis on the injury report, who’s missed the entire season so far because of a rare injury he suffered during the 2024 NBA Finals. The Latvian big man could return <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-kristaps-porzingis-return-date-leg-injury">as soon as December</a>, bolstering Boston’s star-studded roster.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">NBA insider Shams Charania said the Celtics are targeting a December return for center Kristaps Porzingis, via the <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PatMcAfeeShow</a>.</p><p>Could be a nice Christmas present for Boston.<br> <a href="https://t.co/RYFlDTBNHh">pic.twitter.com/RYFlDTBNHh</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1851318263780626833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>How has Al Horford played this season?</b></h2><p>In Porzingis’ absence, the rest of the Celtics have had to step up. That’s not a new challenge for Horford, who’s certainly been up to the task of being Boston’s primary backup.</p><p>The reigning NBA champion only played in one preseason game, yet has shown no signs of rust. He’s averaged 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 25 minutes per outing to start the 2024-25 campaign. Most notably, Horford is shooting 56.7% from the floor and an incredible 60% from deep—connecting on 12 of his 20 attempts from 3-point range.</p><p>On the defensive side of the ball, he’s notched five steals and three blocks through five games.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford with the swat ✋</p><p>Derrick White with the bucket 🪣<a href="https://t.co/EX1dXK8De3">pic.twitter.com/EX1dXK8De3</a></p><p>— Celtics Nation (@CelticsNationCP) <a href="https://twitter.com/CelticsNationCP/status/1851049654659735939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Who backs up Al Horford on the Celtics?</b></h2><p>Boston loves a good volume of 3-pointers, and Horford follows that plan of attack well. His reserves, including centers Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Neemias Queta, aren’t as apt to shoot beyond the perimeter.</p><p>But, that doesn’t mean they can’t fill in when called upon. In fact, during the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzullas-blunt-admission-boston-form-loss-pacers">Celtics’ Wednesday night loss</a> to the Indiana Pacers, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla played Queta down the stretch. The 7-footer recorded a team-high nine rebounds in only 14 minutes and boasted the highest plus-minus rating of any player on either squad. Despite being in the league for three seasons already, he’s never averaged over 11.9 minutes per game.</p><p>When the C’s needed to erase a 24-point deficit, Queta brought the necessary energy, crashing the offensive glass and extending possessions to help his team find life again. Although Boston lost in overtime, falling to 4-1 on the season, it came back and was boosted by Queta’s minutes.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Celtics couldn't get it done in OT, but shout-out to Neemias Queta 😤</p><p>He was crucial for Boston's comeback. Finished with two points, nine rebounds (four offensive boards) and team-high +18 in 14 minutes: <a href="https://t.co/P8crpJFDCv">pic.twitter.com/P8crpJFDCv</a></p><p>— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) <a href="https://twitter.com/Timi_093/status/1851973280447750507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Mazzulla has no problem riding the hot hand, so Queta may see the court earlier than usual against the Hornets. Or, Kornet, who was featured in Boston’s starting lineup whenever Horford didn’t play this preseason, could make his first start of the new season.</p><p>Either way, the Celtics will be heavy favorites on Friday. They were last November for their first meeting of the 2023-24 season, but the Hornets stole a win in Charlotte, upsetting the C’s 121-118 in overtime. The Celtics will look to avoid déjà vu and give the 2-2 Hornets a losing record.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford to miss first game of season, but there’s a catch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-tells-teammates-nba-championship-ring-blunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford tells teammates of NBA championship ring blunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Celtics-news-Al-Horford-tells-teammates-of-NBA-championship-ring-blunder.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford tells teammates of NBA championship ring blunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-22T19:50:55-07:00">October 22nd, 7:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-22T19:50:55-07:00">October 22nd, 7:50pm</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Boston Celtics big man Al Horford gave an <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1848875632362721399" rel="noopener">eye-opening, instant reaction</a> to receiving his first NBA ring.</p><p>“I got the measurements all wrong, it’s like way too big,” The Celtics’ center immediately told teammates Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis while mic’d up and wearing the championship hardware during TNT’s coverage of the ring ceremony.</p><p>Horford’s hilarious comments came during a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-tie-nba-3-point-record-opening-night-vs-knicks">historic night for the Celtics</a> franchise as they celebrated their 18th championship in franchise history, inching one title ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the record. The veteran star also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-al-horford-overwhelmed-highest-dominican-honor">made some history of his own in his native country of the Dominican Republic</a> the same week that Boston hung up their banner before the game against the New York Knicks.</p><p>During the ring ceremony, Horford was seen interacting with teammates and Celtics’ staff as well as former NBA legend Kevin Garnett. Garnett is no stranger to hanging up a banner in TD Garden, having helped the Celtics to their 17th championship with a 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Other Celtics’ legends in attendance included Garnett’s legendary teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and six-time champion Bob Cousy.</p><p>This was Boston’s first championship since 2008, despite making it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals six times between those two titles. Horford had to wait even longer than 16 years to finally reach the pinnacle of the sport, even though he is no stranger to competing in the playoffs.</p><h2><b>Al Horford won his first NBA title after 186 playoff games</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Al-Horford-Press-Conference.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The 5-time NBA All-Star played in a league-leading 186 postseason contests before winning his first championship with the Celtics. The only player to surpass that total, who in his case never won a ring, is NBA legend Karl Malone. Horford made the postseason eight consecutive years with the Atlanta Hawks before signing with the Celtics during free agency in 2016.</p><p>In his two stints in Boston, “Big Al” has been to a total of five Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, with the second trip ending in banner #18. The Celtics needed all of Horford’s contributions during their historic championship run as their starting center Kristaps Porzingis only played in seven postseason games including three out of five Finals games. These performances helped Horford <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-al-horford-secures-old-man-record-not-since-seen-1969-with-nba-finals-win">become the first player since 1969</a> to win a championship while being older than his head coach.</p><p>As the Celtics steamrolled through the playoffs, the 37 going on 38-year-old veteran took on the starting center role, playing in all 19 postseason games and starting 15 of them. Horford played 30 minutes a game while averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-kristaps-porzingis-injury-timetable-joe-mazzulla-update-24-25">With Porzingis expected to be out an extended period of time</a> recovering from left ankle surgery, the Celtics will look to Big Al to play a big role in their title defense. But the 17-year vet does have experience defending a major championship, having done so with the University of Florida in 2007.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford tells teammates of NBA championship ring blunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-jonas-valanciunas-makes-espn-top-100-before-brook-lopez-al-horford-2');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas just makes ESPN’s Top 100 before Brook Lopez, Al Horford');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jonas-Valanciunas-just-makes-ESPNs-Top-100-before-Brook-Lopez-Al-Horford.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas just makes ESPN’s Top 100 before Brook Lopez, Al Horford</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T17:10:22-07:00">October 16th, 5:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T17:11:19-07:00">October 16th, 5:11pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although the top 10 won’t be released until Thursday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-two-bulls-named-espn-top-100-rankings">ESPN revealed its top 100 NBA players</a> as the 2024-25 season approaches. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jonas-valanciunas-net-worth">Washington Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas</a> is the team’s lone representative, checking in at 91st.</p><p>Valanciunas’ <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41555759/nba-rank-2024-2025-best-players-100-51" rel="noopener">durability helped him secure his spot</a> on the list, via ESPN’s Michael Wright.</p><p>“Valanciunas showcased incredible durability last season, playing in all 82 games and averaging a near double-double while shooting 56% from the floor. The 2023-24 campaign marked the eighth season in which the veteran played 70 games or more,” Wright said. “Washington features the NBA’s eighth-youngest roster, which means the Wizards will lean on Valanciunas’ veteran leadership.”</p><p>“His prowess in the paint should prove beneficial, given that Washington ranked last in second-chance points per game allowed last season and 29th in paint points allowed per game,” Wright continued.</p><p>Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Wizards in free agency this past summer after getting traded from the New Orleans Pelicans for a 2027 second-round pick. The 32-year-old’s ranking edged out fellow veteran centers Al Horford and Brook Lopez, who are 96th and 93rd, respectively. However, he finished behind younger counterparts like Isaiah Hartenstein (88th) and Mitchell Robinson (82nd).</p><p>Valanciunas will undoubtedly be a good example for power forward Alex Sarr to follow, who Washington drafted No. 2 overall this past spring. The Lithuanian international provides value both as a defender and stretch big on offense, both skills that the Wizards need Sarr to develop over the coming years.</p><p>Valanciunas, who was on Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ offseason wishlist, will most likely help Washington improve on its worst season in franchise history last year. How long the 13th-year veteran will remain on the team is unclear, but his contract has a no-trade restriction until December 15.</p><h2><b>Wizards are excited to have Jonas Valanciunas</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jonas-Valanciunas.jpg"><figcaption>© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Valanciunas provides much-needed assistance to a Wizards frontcourt that struggled last season. On Media Day, Washington forward Kyle Kuzma <a href="https://x.com/chasedcsports/status/1840775322335171000?s=46" rel="noopener">shared his reaction</a> to the 2011 first-round pick joining the squad, via Monumental Sports Network’s Chase Hughes.</p><p>“That we’re not going to be the worst defensive rebounding team in the league anymore,” Kuzma said.</p><p>Kuzma wasn’t far off, as the Wizards ranked 29th with 48.5 total rebounds per game last season, although they were 24th in defensive rebounds. Regardless, the seven-footer should prevent that history from repeating itself. He previewed what’s to come against the Toronto Raptors on October 11, registering 12 points, eight rebounds, and a block in just 22 minutes.</p><p>Even more so than individually producing, though, Washington needs Valanciunas to help Sarr elevate into a top 100 player one day.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas just makes ESPN’s Top 100 before Brook Lopez, Al Horford

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-joe-mazzulla-al-horford-react-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, Al Horford react to shocking Karl-Anthony Towns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Celtics-news-Joe-Mazzulla-Al-Horford-react-to-shocking-Karl-Anthony-Towns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, Al Horford react to shocking Karl-Anthony Towns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-29T16:51:10-07:00">September 29th, 4:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-29T16:51:10-07:00">September 29th, 4:51pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>BOSTON — The Boston Celtics’ offseason is nearing its end, as they’re already a few days into <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-joe-mazzulla-beloved-psycho">training camp and preparing for preseason games</a> in Abu Dhabi. However, that doesn’t mean the chaotic player movement that comes with the offseason is over.</p><p>On Friday night, the New York Knicks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-karl-anthony-towns-julius-randle-trade-between-timberwolves-knicks-sends-shockwaves">shocked the NBA world</a> by trading for four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The deal isn’t official yet, but the Knicks reportedly dealt three-time All-Star Julius Randle, postseason hero Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected first-round pick to Minnesota.</p><p>Towns, who’s been with the Timberwolves for nine seasons, was <a href="https://x.com/KarlTowns/status/1839849752218738731" rel="noopener">too stunned to verbalize</a> his feelings about the three-team trade.</p><p>The surprising shakeup was likely made with the Celtics in mind. The Knicks finished second in the Eastern Conference last season behind Boston and haven’t been shy about their desire to catch up to the reigning champs. In early July, New York gave up a few role players and a ton of draft capital to bring in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mikal-bridges-nsfw-response-fans-hating-on-nets">ex-Brooklyn Net Mikal Bridges</a>. His length and formidable defense could be used to hinder Boston’s terrific tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart:</p><p>“Everyone’s coming for and chasing Boston. We could have went and signed Bron, Jokic, KD, but we’re still chasing Boston. They’re the champs”</p><p>🎥: <a href="https://twitter.com/Roommates__Show?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Roommates__Show</a> </p><p> <a href="https://t.co/WIzqTHQbkP">pic.twitter.com/WIzqTHQbkP</a></p><p>— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) <a href="https://twitter.com/CelticsUnite18/status/1820119182429802980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>A few members of the Celtics were asked for their thoughts on the blockbuster move before they travel overseas for preseason play. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla prioritized the need for his players to focus on what’s going on inside their building rather than the current events of the rest of the NBA.</p><p>“Everybody is trying to upgrade their roster before the end of the season,” he said on Sunday afternoon. “We just gotta focus on us.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Joe Mazzulla on the massive KAT and Julius Randle trade:</p><p>“Everybody is trying to upgrade their roster before the end of the season … We just gotta focus on us.” <a href="https://t.co/XrIMSP19Ky">pic.twitter.com/XrIMSP19Ky</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1840449868055113777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Mazzulla shared a similar sentiment during the 2023-24 season. After the Indiana Pacers traded for NBA champion Pascal Siakam in January, the young coach anticipated a question about it ahead of a regular season game versus the San Antonio Spurs.</p><p>“Save yourself the rest of the question. I don’t really care,” he remarked. “Obviously I saw it, there’s a TV on in the back, but it doesn’t really concern me.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Joe Mazzulla interrupts reporter asking about the Pacers acquiring Pascal Siakam:</p><p>“Save yourself the rest of the question, I really don’t care…obviously I saw it, there’s a tv on in the back, but it doesn’t really concern me.” </p><p> <a href="https://t.co/cWvaLOi2S5">pic.twitter.com/cWvaLOi2S5</a></p><p>— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexGoldenNBA/status/1750277280981520687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The New England native only concerns himself with what goes on in his locker room. Brown expressed the same thought during <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-biggest-takeaways-2024-25-media-day">Celtics Media Day</a> when Bridges’ arrival in Manhattan was mentioned.</p><p>“I’m only focused on what our organization is doing,” the reigning Finals MVP told the media. “I could care less with what’s going on around the league. I don’t really have any feelings towards it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I could care less with what's going on around the league… No thoughts, really."</p><p>Jaylen Brown on all the moves opposing teams have made this offseason 👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danield1214</a>) <a href="https://t.co/p5YIsM9xVI">pic.twitter.com/p5YIsM9xVI</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1838614113695510651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Celtics are primarily concerned with what they can control</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Jaylen-Brown-Karl-Anthony-Towns.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Of course, the Celtics aren’t just ignoring outside noise for Mazzulla’s sake. They’re fresh off a title and returned arguably the best starting five in the league. No matter what went on around the NBA, Boston was always going to have its championship window open.</p><p>“We want to win a championship every single year,” Mazzulla stated during Media Day. “That’s the goal, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla discussed his team’s mentality heading into the new season:</p><p>“We want to win a championship every single year.” <a href="https://t.co/QHLc3nwXn6">pic.twitter.com/QHLc3nwXn6</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1838595104564486280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Celtics center Al Horford didn’t completely disregard New York’s offseason, as he complimented Towns’ game and versatility.</p><p>“Karl’s a great player,” he said after practice on Sunday. “He’s going to be good for them. He does a lot of things on the floor.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford on the Knicks trading for Karl-Anthony Towns:</p><p>“Karl’s gonna be great for them.” <a href="https://t.co/YgaCRUPqSJ">pic.twitter.com/YgaCRUPqSJ</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1840455746527662428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While the C’s prevailed in the 2024 NBA Finals, Towns’ Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals before falling in five games to the Dallas Mavericks. That was Minnesota’s deepest postseason run since 2004, when Towns was just eight years old.</p><p>Despite the T-Wolves’ successful season, they changed up their core and replaced Towns with Randle, another former first-round pick who played for the University of Kentucky. Both big men can connect from deep, averaged over 20 points per game last season, and have yet to turn 30.</p><p>The Knicks will be able to test their new lineup against Boston on opening night, which falls on Tuesday, October 22nd. A month later, the Timberwolves will pit their new-look squad against the Green Team for the first time on Sunday, November 24th.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, Al Horford react to shocking Karl-Anthony Towns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-gets-painfully-honest-on-nba-future-beyond-2024-25');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford gets painfully honest on NBA future beyond 2024-25');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Celtics-news-Al-Horford-gets-painfully-honest-on-NBA-future-beyond-2024-25.jpg"><figcaption>6/23/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Al Horford gets painfully honest on NBA future beyond 2024-25</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-23T17:15:19-07:00">June 23rd, 5:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-23T17:15:19-07:00">June 23rd, 5:15pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-feelings-possible-title-repeat-after-2024">completed their championship season</a> when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Their five-game triumph set off a huge celebration for the team that has won 18 NBA titles, the most in league history. While superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are regularly the most publicized players on the team, the Celtics credited their championship to their outstanding team play. Veteran Al Horford was one of the key contributors, and the 38-year-old center was overjoyed at winning the first title of his career.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford said he doesn’t know how long his career will last past next season, but he said, “I feel good, I want to keep it going.” <a href="https://t.co/npKeJqeOOJ">pic.twitter.com/npKeJqeOOJ</a></p><p>— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1804933446076174810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Horford completed the 17th year of his career with a championship ring. He has played 6 seasons with the Celtics, nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, one season with the Philadelphia 76ers and one with the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Shortly after the Celtics won their title, Horford let his team and Boston fans know that he was not ready to head off into retirement. He wants to play at least one more season, but he is not sure about his playing future <a href="https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1804933446076174810">after the 2024-25 season</a>. “I feel good, I want to keep it going,” Horford said.</p><h2><b>Horford made significant contribution to Celtics effort</b></h2><p>Despite his age, Horford regularly showed off his athleticism, defensive skill and ability to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-al-horford-has-heartwarming-stance-on-sharing-nba-finals-victory-with-his-son">hit the open shot</a> during the regular season and throughout the playoffs.</p><p>Horford was thrilled to be part of a championship team, and he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5579906/2024/06/21/al-horford-boston-celtics-parade/">had pictured</a> the reaction of the city and the team’s fans in the years prior to the crowning triumph.</p><p>“We play basketball for the Celtics and we understand we represent much more: Boston, we’re representing the New England area,” Horford said. “And I’m just very proud to be able to bring a championship to Boston. When I came here eight years ago, this was kind of what I envisioned. And it’s been hard. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tough losses over the years. But just to get to this point, I’m very grateful.”</p><p>Al Horford made a significant contribution throughout the NBA Finals for the Celtics. He only hit double-figures in points in Game 5 when he scored 10 points, but he also contributed 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.</p><p>Horford was also consistent whenever he took a 3-point shot in the championship round. He made 2 of 5 attempts from distance in the decisive game, and he made 8 of 17 3-point attempts throughout the series.</p><h2><b>Horford clearly respected by coaching staff</b></h2><p>It’s clear that 35-year-old head coach Joe Mazzulla respected Horford’s all-around contribution as he played between 23 and 37 minutes of each of the games in the series against the Mavericks.</p><p>Al Horford has been an NBA All-Star three times in his career and he has been widely recognized as one of the league’s better defensive players.</p><p>He averaged 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocks for the Celtics in the 2023-24 season. Horford connected on 51.1 percent of his shots from the field, 41.9 percent of his shots from distance and 86.7 percent of his shots from the free throw line.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford gets painfully honest on NBA future beyond 2024-25

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-has-heartwarming-stance-on-sharing-nba-finals-victory-with-his-son');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford has heartwarming stance on sharing NBA Finals victory with his son');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Celtics-news-Al-Horfords-heartwarming-stance-on-sharing-NBA-Finals-victory-with-his-son.jpeg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford has heartwarming stance on sharing NBA Finals victory with his son</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-21T08:04:21-07:00">June 21st, 8:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-21T08:04:21-07:00">June 21st, 8:04am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-shows-off-nba-finals-mvp-trophy-casino">As the Boston Celtics celebrate winning</a> the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and hoisting up their 18th championship in franchise history, one person that people are most happy to see finally win a title <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/al-horford-jrue-holiday-bolster-hall-of-fame-cases-celtics-title">is the long-time veteran in Al Horford</a>. He previously had the active record for participating in the most playoff games without winning a title, but that is all over as he gets to cherish the moment with the people he loves most, especially his 9-year old son named Ean.</p><h2><b>Horford on his son and family being “involved” with the Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-celebrating-winning-the-NBA-title-after-the-Celtics-beat-the-Mavericks.jpeg"><figcaption>Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>One of the viral videos posted by Boston’s X (formerly known as Twitter) was the team besides Horford <a href="https://x.com/celtics/status/1802923894518514156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1802923894518514156%7Ctwgr%5Edefe67e36753aa8ea883a4490b401e900e02cc5d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2F5579906%2F2024%2F06%2F21%2Fal-horford-boston-celtics-parade%2F" rel="noopener">celebrating with his son as the moments were counting</a> down to the end of Game 5. There is no doubt it was a special moment for everybody involved as Horford talks about how his children is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5579906/2024/06/21/al-horford-boston-celtics-parade/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">“so invested” and “committed”</a> with the Celtics according to Jay King of The Athletic.</p><p>“He’s so involved with the team,” Horford said. “He really loves being a Celtic. He just really relishes it. And to see him throughout the season being so invested in it, so committed with it — my girls too, my (four) daughters are super into it, but he’s playing now so he’s starting to understand it a little more.</p><p>“And for me, the most gratifying part of it is just seeing him happy but also seeing my teammates embracing him,” Horford continued. “I saw in the video Derrick White went over, gave him a hug and was all emotional with him. They really care for him and that to me is the special part: that we not only get to celebrate this with the guys and we get to celebrate with our families. And our families are right there, they’re a part of it. We sacrifice so much to be in these positions and it was just nice to see him enjoy this moment.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The moment it happened 🥹 <a href="https://t.co/Lmdtek28Cz">pic.twitter.com/Lmdtek28Cz</a></p><p>— Boston Celtics (@celtics) <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1802923894518514156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Horford has been a fan favorite to Celtics fans</b></h2><p>Looking at it from a broader scope, Horford has been a fan favorite as he has dedicated now six seasons to winning a potential <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzullas-trip-larry-obrien-trophy-boston-north-goes-viral">championship with the Celtics</a> in his 17-year career. It was not six seasons straight as he first played with them from 2016-2019, then played with the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder for two seasons then came back to Boston, much to the delight of one fan who said he was <a href="https://x.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1803848701204693410" rel="noopener">“stealing money from other teams”</a> according to Noa Dalzell.</p><p>“For Al to stick with this team, go get money, steal money from other teams, it means something special,” a fan said to Dalzell.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“For Al to stick with this team, go get money, steal money from other teams, it means something special.”</p><p>💀💀 <a href="https://t.co/M69ipjaXZm">pic.twitter.com/M69ipjaXZm</a></p><p>— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1803848701204693410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Like with anybody, family is crucial for Horford and when he won the championship, his focus was on being with them and cherishing the moment. In celebrating the championship, it was revealed that most of the team traveled to Miami, Florida, but Horford would say to The Athletic that he stayed to be with his loved ones.</p><p>“I’ve had a bunch of my family over, my mom, dad, some of my really good close friends, sisters, brother, and we just hung out for the past couple of days,” Horford said. “It’s been really nice having the kids running around, just being home, trying to take everything in. So it feels good to be here and just feel the love from everybody.”</p><h2><b>Horford on cherishing Boston winning a champipnship</b></h2><p>Speaking of cherishing the moment, Horford has been trying to do that ever since the buzzer rang in Game 5 of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-5-superstar-trades-brad-stevens-decided-against">NBA Finals as the Celtics beat</a> the Mavericks, 106-88. He has been trying to do that so much so that he has not been able to reflect too much on his whole career and what led him to this moment.</p><p>“I don’t know if I’ve been able to reflect on it that much,” Horford said. “I feel like we’re still caught up in the celebration, the confetti going down, everything that just transpired within the last couple of days, I haven’t really had a chance to really look at it from that point of view, I feel like we’re just really caught up in just looking at the pictures, looking at videos, just trying to take it all in with my family, just kind of sharing stories of the night and things like that. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing.”</p><h2><b>Horford speaks on bringing a title to the Celtics</b></h2><p>At the end of the day, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-bill-simmons-conjures-wild-bronny-james-scheme-to-hold-lakers-hostage">playing for the city of Boston</a> puts a lot of pressure on the back of any player, coach, and executive associated with that team. The Celtics are obviously no different and Horford knows that more than anybody on the team, but said he is “very proud to be able to bring a championship” to the city.</p><p>“We play basketball for the Celtics and we understand we represent much more: Boston, we’re representing the New England area,” Horford said. “And I’m just very proud to be able to bring a championship to Boston. When I came here eight years ago, this was kind of what I envisioned. And it’s been hard. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tough losses over the years. But just to get to this point, I’m very grateful.”</p><h2><b>Horford calls the city of Boston “special”</b></h2><p>While there are other cities known for their passion to sports teams like New York and Philadelphia which Horford spent one season with the 76ers as said before, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzulla-reveals-why-he-lost-it-his-assistant-coach-late-in-game-5">he separates Boston</a> from the rest.</p><p>“I’ve been all over the country and I just haven’t seen the love, the care and the commitment from people towards not only their sports but their community,” Horford said via The Athletic.. “I feel like here in Boston there’s a real tight community, like, that’s a real thing. And whether I’m out putting gas in my car or whether I’m at the grocery store or whatever, people always say good things, always embracing me and my family.</p><p>“And it’s everywhere in Mass,” Horford continued. “We talk about in Boston, but we take my kids apple picking, we go to the beach, we go to different places and people are the same. They keep the same energy. People really love it here. And for me, that’s the thing that captivated me, just the sense of community here and the togetherness that we have here in Boston. And that’s very special.”</p><p>At any rate, the festivities continue <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-to-watch-celtics-championship-parade-date-time-tv-stream">Friday with the official Celtics parade</a> as they won their first championship since 2008, but while the players will get a rest, the work continues. They look to build off an exceptional season where they had the best record in basketball at 64-18 and were dominant in the playoffs leading to the title series win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford has heartwarming stance on sharing NBA Finals victory with his son

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/al-horford-jrue-holiday-bolster-hall-of-fame-cases-celtics-title');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford, Jrue Holiday bolster Hall of Fame cases with Celtics title');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-Jrue-Holiday-bolster-Hall-of-Fame-cases-with-Celtics-titl.jpg"></figure><h1>Al Horford, Jrue Holiday bolster Hall of Fame cases with Celtics title</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-20T19:27:24-07:00">June 20th, 7:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-20T19:27:24-07:00">June 20th, 7:27pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-biggest-key-championship-hump-2024">Celtics are world champions</a> once more, and their 2024 title will have a lasting impact on the legacies of all those involved.</p><p>After beating the Dallas Mavericks the 2024 NBA Finals <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-celtics-score-0cdf7b0fb7bc641a5007c8dff836832a" rel="noopener">over five games</a>, stars Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis all earned their first ring. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, at just 35 years old, is now one of the most successful, young coaches in league history.</p><p>Then there are NBA veterans Jrue Holiday and Al Horford. Winning is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jrue-holiday-reveals-how-he-became-a-lethal-defender">nothing new for Holiday</a>, as the two-way guard has two championships to his name after cutting down the nets with Boston.</p><p>Horford is in a unique situation, as he previously had the second most career postseason games played without a title. At long last, his 17-year quest for championship glory is over.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford walks right by to thank and spend some time with the Boston faithful 🙌 </p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danield1214</a>) <a href="https://t.co/vJGQgCicO6">pic.twitter.com/vJGQgCicO6</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1803858411139809362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While the legacies of Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, and even Mazzulla aren’t quite fully formed, Holiday and Horford are nearing the end of their respective careers. So, where does that leave them in terms of reaching basketball’s apex?</p><p>Let’s explore why the two 2024 NBA champions have legitimate cases for enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.</p><h2><b>Al Horford pleads Hall of Fame case </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-1.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>There’s no denying Horford’s greatness, yet there was a question that would constantly swirl around him – will he ever win it all?</p><p>That issue has finally been laid to rest, and it’s a surreal feeling for the Green Team’s elder statesman.</p><p>“I’m so grateful,” he said with relief after prevailing 106-88 in Game 5 versus the Mavs. “It’s been a lot of years. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m going through the emotions right now, but I don’t feel like it’s over. This is an unbelievable feeling. Yeah, the confetti, everything is going on, but it just hasn’t hit me yet.”</p><p>The last obstacle preventing Horford from entering the Hall of Fame may have been removed in the wake of Boston’s 18th championship. The 38-year-old center has his ring, as well as loads of other accomplishments.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford became just the 4th center to hit 7 threes in a single playoff game joining:</p><p>🔸Naz Reid<br>🔸Myles Turner<br>🔸Nikola Jokic</p><p>Al is still getting it done at 37 years old 🏀 <a href="https://t.co/QWjW5UoqwS">pic.twitter.com/QWjW5UoqwS</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1794569522340581661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Since the Hall of Fame committees review other pursuits beyond the NBA, the various voters must also acknowledge that Horford won two NCAA championships with the Florida Gators over 15 years ago.</p><p>Additionally, Horford made five All-Star teams, one All-NBA Team, and one All-Defensive Team. Simply put, he’s won at every level and achieved a lot before he was a Celtic.</p><p>With a ring on his finger, Horford has earned Hall of Fame consideration. And while those already inducted are legends of the game, let’s take a look at some other resumes to put Horford’s into context.</p><p>Houston Rockets great Calvin Murphy received an All-Star nod in 1979 despite standing at just 5-foot-9. He was an impressive scorer and a surprisingly tough defender for his height. Yet, he never won an NBA championship, never won an NCAA championship, and never qualified for an All-NBA Team. This isn’t to say Murphy isn’t an all-time player, but it proves that Horford has a resume that can contend with current Hall of Famers.</p><p>Horford has a culturally significant case too, since he’s the first player from the Dominican Republic to win a championship in NBA history. Plus, the “Godfather” of the Celtics is reportedly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-al-horford-retirement-rumors-shut-down-wyc-grousbeck">hoping to continue his career</a>. If he can contribute to even more winning then he’s surely headed to Springfield, Massachusetts.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck confirms that Al Horford will be returning to the Celtics next season! <a href="https://t.co/WfTSwxH9bS">pic.twitter.com/WfTSwxH9bS</a></p><p>— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheGregHillShow/status/1803066046389055661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b> Jrue Holiday looks Hall of Fame ready</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Jrue-Holiday-3.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Horford has a strong argument, but Holiday’s is potentially better.</p><p>The Los Angeles native made an All-Star team in 2013 and then another 10 years later, which is an incredible testament to his longevity. Holiday has also been a part of three All-Defensive Second Teams, three All-Defensive First Teams, and two championship rosters.</p><p>He’s brought his winning ways to nearly every stop in his career, and Boston was no different.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">THE JRUE HOLIDAY EFFECT 🔥</p><p>He is the only player in NBA history to win a title in his first season with two separate teams.</p><p>🏆2021 Bucks<br>🏆2024 Celtics <a href="https://t.co/uswvuw1e8t">pic.twitter.com/uswvuw1e8t</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1803056167301550522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Winning’s always great,” he told the media after hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with the Celtics. “When you do it with people that you love to do it with, it feels great. When you see your teammates celebrating and jumping on each other and throwing champagne, there’s nothing like it.”</p><p>Like Horford, all of Holiday’s teammates speak highly of him. Opponents do too, as Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton called him the best defender in the league following Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“[Jrue Holiday] is the best defender in the NBA and has been for a long time… I’ll learn from it and I’ll be better in Game 2.”</p><p>Tyrese Haliburton praises Holiday and the Celtics’ defense down the stretch of Game 1 🗣️<a href="https://t.co/UsGnRyW4FG">pic.twitter.com/UsGnRyW4FG</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1793126311566713253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That kind of respect from another elite player says it all, Holiday is an all-time great defender. His career average of 16.1 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field isn’t shabby either.</p><p>Moreover, unlike a fair amount of Hall of Famers, Holiday is a gold medal winner. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he led Team USA in assists per outing and was the third-leading scorer. He managed all of that while locking down opposing players, earning three steals and a block in the final against France.</p><p>The 34-year-old guard hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Therefore, he could bolster his resume with the Celtics further and pursue another championship during the 2024-25 season.</p><p>Regardless of how next year goes, Horford and Holiday deserve a spot in Springfield.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford, Jrue Holiday bolster Hall of Fame cases with Celtics title

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-retirement-rumors-shut-down-wyc-grousbeck');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford retirement rumors swiftly shut down by Wyc Grousbeck');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-retirement-rumors-swiftly-shut-down-by-Wyc-Grousbeck.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford retirement rumors swiftly shut down by Wyc Grousbeck</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-18T08:01:17-07:00">June 18th, 8:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-18T08:03:02-07:00">June 18th, 8:03am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It took until Year 17 in the NBA for him to win his first championship, but Boston Celtics veteran Al Horford can finally call himself a champion. The Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals on Monday night, securing their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ranking-the-celtics-18-championships-after-2024-nba-finals-win">18th title in team history</a>, a new NBA record. For Horford, he was finally able to get over the hump and help lead his team to a championship in his second NBA Finals appearance. At 38 years old and nearing the end of the line in his career, there have been a lot of retirement rumors centered around Horford.</p><p>However, it does not appear as if the Celtics’ veteran is leaving.</p><p>Entering the offseason, Horford still has one year left on his contract, and he will make $9.5 million during the 2024-25 season. Although Horford has not said anything about his future since hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy into the air, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck made it clear on Tuesday that Boston’s locker room leader <a href="https://x.com/TheGregHillShow/status/1803066046389055661" rel="noopener">isn’t leaving</a>.</p><p>“Al is coming back for next year. That’s what I have been told,” Grousbeck clearly outlined during a phone appearance on The Greg Hill Show. “We’ve got some guys that are getting up there a little bit. Basically, we are a young team. Most of our players are 30 or younger. That is bad news for everyone else, hopefully.”</p><p>The Celtics are still a fairly young team, as their only players over the age of 30 are Horford (38) and Jrue Holiday (33). Despite their older ages, both Horford and Holiday were instrumental to the success Boston found not just in the playoffs but during the entirety of the regular season.</p><p>If Grousbeck says Horford is coming back, then Celtics fans should expect to see their veteran leader back on the court for his 18th NBA season when the team receives their championship rings in October.</p><h2><b>Al Horford’s impact on Celtics’ championship run</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-with-NBA-Finals-trophy-.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Without Al Horford, the Celtics are not the dominant team they proved to be all season. He may not possess the All-Star-like talent he once had earlier in his career with the Atlanta Hawks, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-is-al-horford-a-future-hall-of-famer-after-passing-three-legends-in-game-2-win">Horford is still a very impactful playe</a>r due to his defensive awareness. Horford also does a lot of the little things to help the Celtics win games, which is why he is still very much one of the best glue guys in the entire league.</p><p>What makes Horford special, especially in Boston, is how he fits their style of play. Joe Mazzulla preached toughness all year, and he wanted guys next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were not afraid to fight for loose balls, 50-50 rebounds, and make the unselfish plays on offense.</p><p>This is exactly what Horford brings to the table.</p><p>From his three-point shooting to his passing at the top of the arc to his toughness on the interior, Horford has rapidly become the heart and soul of this Celtics organization. In the NBA Finals, the veteran big man averaged 7.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 52.0 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from three-point range.</p><p>It seemed like every time the Celtics needed to see a jumper fall from the perimeter, Horford was the one that gave them a jolt of energy with a corner three. His natural defensive instincts also made life hard for the Mavericks’ offense, as Dallas was never able to settle in the groove and get the ball moving on the interior with Horford constantly jumping around the low block.</p><p>Perhaps the greatest achievement for Horford is that he has finally ended his NBA Finals drought. In addition to being the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-al-horford-secures-old-man-record-not-since-seen-1969-with-nba-finals-win">first NBA champion who is older</a> than his head coach since 1969, Horford also ended his dreaded playoff games without a championship streak in his 186th career postseason game. James Harden (166) now holds the longest active streak of playoff games without a title.</p><p>This championship was career-defining for Horford. He was one of the best big men in the league during the 2010s era, and now he can finally call himself a champion.</p><p>However, one championship may not be enough. Horford appears to be ready to run things back with the Celtics for at least one more year.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford retirement rumors swiftly shut down by Wyc Grousbeck

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-secures-old-man-record-not-since-seen-1969-with-nba-finals-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford secures old-man record not since seen 1969 with NBA Finals win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-secures-old-man-record-not-since-seen-1969-with-NBA-Finals-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford secures old-man record not since seen 1969 with NBA Finals win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-18T00:59:58-07:00">June 18th, 12:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-18T20:34:44-07:00">June 18th, 8:34pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay Postrado is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The road was very long and often teased Al Horford on his way up. Going professional made him have big stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Philadelphia 76ers. But, it was the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-paul-pierce-kevin-garnett-go-crazy-after-boston-18th-nba-title">Boston Celtics that gave</a> him shot to finally have a complete career by winning the NBA Finals. He might have departed from the Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum-led squad for quite some time but his return was crucial in helping Joe Mazzulla bring home the franchise’s 18th banner.</p><p>Al Horford just needed a Larry O’Brien trophy to round out a legendary career. With their 106 to 88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, he finally did it. The veteran is also not going home without breaking NBA Finals history.</p><p>Al Horford is the first champion to be older <a href="https://x.com/hoopshype/status/1802896276024971662" rel="noopener">than his</a> head coach since 1969, per HoopsHype. He is 38 years old and Joe Mazzulla is three years younger than him. Poetically, the Celtics also had the last and only other pairing in NBA Finals history to have achieved this accolade. It was Bill Russell and Buddy Jeannette who notched it back in their 1969 title run.</p><p>Moreover, Joe Mazzulla is also the second-youngest head coach to win the NBA Finals. The only other person who did it at a younger age? Well, it was also the late Bill Russell when he was 34 while Mazzulla reached basketball immortality a year older.</p><p>All of this makes for a weird stat in NBA Finals history. Typically, the coaches are older and former players in the league who develop young guys. But, Mazzulla is not one of these. He did not play in the league and the funny thing is he won against Jason Kidd, a prominent point guard who transitioned into coaching after his career.</p><h2><b>A hard road to an NBA Finals with the Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Boston-Celtics-center-Al-Horford-42-kisses-the.jpg"><figcaption>© Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Horford’s veteran leadership should also not be discounted. The Celtics big man has been with the team since the 2016 season. He is so good with the Celtics that other teams would not see his optimal production when they acquired him, just ask the Thunder and 76ers.</p><p>He already has his All-Star selections and even earned the first seed with the Hawks. It was this title with Jaylen Brown and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-instant-3-word-reaction-to-2024-nba-title-win">Jayson Tatum that made his</a> resume complete. To no one’s surprise, he was ecstatic after holding the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in his career.</p><blockquote>I can’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. We did it, we’re here, and I can’t believe it. This is just how I pictured it, here at the Garden, with our fans, everybody together. This is just how I saw it. Eight years ago. This is how I saw it eight years ago. Wyc knows about it, Wyc knows about the ring. Eight years ago!</blockquote><p>There are a lot of reasons for the Celtics to celebrate. Giving Horford his first-ever win after almost a decade of being with the team has to be up there.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford secures old-man record not since seen 1969 with NBA Finals win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-makes-shocking-admission-boston-game-4-blowout-mavs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford makes shocking admission about Celtics’ Game 4 blowout vs. Mavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Celtics-news-Al-Horford-makes-shocking-admission-about-Bostons-Game-4-blowout-vs.-Mavs.jpg"></figure><h1>Al Horford makes shocking admission about Celtics’ Game 4 blowout vs. Mavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-14T23:58:02-07:00">June 14th, 11:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-15T07:58:02-07:00">June 15th, 7:58am</time><address><a>Brian Buyawe</a>Brian Buyawe is an NBA, NFL, NCAA Football, and NCAA Basketball writer for ClutchPoints. His advanced knowledge of basketball, football, and Formula One started at an early age, allowing him to provide in-depth analysis.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics entered Game 4 with a chance to end the season on the throne. However, the exact opposite happened, as the team suffered a 38-point blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics couldn’t find their rhythm throughout the game, and the lack of adjustments could be a reason why — according to Al Horford that is.</p><p>Following the game, the big man <a href="https://x.com/JackSimoneNBA/status/1801817012311568511" rel="noopener">made an admission</a> about the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-celtics-takeaways-brutal-game-4-loss-mavericks-nba-finals">Celtics’ subpar performance</a>.</p><p>“For us, we had the first three games, we didn’t really make any adjustments,” Horford said, per CelticsBlog’s Jack Simone. “Today, they did something. We have to see what we can do (and) how we can be better.”</p><h2><b>The Celtics fall on Friday</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/The-Celtics-bench-in-Game-4.jpg"><figcaption>© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Right off the bat, there were already signs that it wouldn’t be a good night for Boston. In the opening quarter, the Celtics shot 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from the floor while going 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range. Dallas ended up taking a 13-point cushion after the first 12 minutes.</p><p>The landslide would continue in the next three quarters. The Celtics struggled to put the ball in the basket, scoring only 14 points in the second period. To make things worse, they had no answer for Luka Doncic, who already had 25 points by halftime.</p><p>It was the same story in the third, as there were no signs of a run from the green and white. And instead of Luka Doncic, it was Kyrie Irving who continued where his running mate left off. By the end of the quarter, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla decided to wave the white flag, taking out his starters for good.</p><p>At one point, the Mavericks led by as much as 48. By the conclusion of the game, the final score was 122-84 in favor of the blue jerseys. Boston shot just 36.2 percent from the field while the Mavs hit 50.5 percent of their attempts.</p><p>Besides the disparity on offense, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-most-to-blame-for-ugly-nba-finals-game-4-loss-to-mavericks">the Celtics were outplayed</a> in other ways as well. Dallas’ defense had a different edge on Friday, forcing Boston to commit 13 turnovers.</p><p>The one-sided rebounding hurt Boston as well. Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford could not be contained on the boards, as Dallas outrebounded their foes, 52-31. Lively, in particular, was able to grab seven offensive rebounds on the Celtics. These led to multiple extra possessions for the Mavericks — several of which resulted in points.</p><p>Nevertheless, Al Horford isn’t fazed. He knows <a href="https://x.com/JackSimoneNBA/status/1801817426121650486" rel="noopener">it’s just one game</a>, and he knows there’s an opportunity for redemption on Monday.</p><p>“Understand that it’s one game… (We’ll) make sure that we come out and play Celtics basketball (in Game 5).”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford makes shocking admission about Celtics’ Game 4 blowout vs. Mavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-is-al-horford-a-future-hall-of-famer-after-passing-three-legends-in-game-2-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Celtics’ Al Horford a future Hall of Famer after passing three legends in Game 2 win?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Is-Al-Horford-a-future-Hall-of-Famer-after-passing-three-legends-in-Game-2-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Is Celtics’ Al Horford a future Hall of Famer after passing three legends in Game 2 win?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-10T20:46:49-07:00">June 10th, 8:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-10T20:46:49-07:00">June 10th, 8:46pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When the Denver Nuggets were eliminated from the 2024 NBA playoffs, there was much excitement among fans and analysts alike that there will be a new superstar crowned as champion. Now, with the Boston Celtics having advanced to the Finals along with the Dallas Mavericks, the possibility of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown or Luka Doncic <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncics-eye-opening-claim-failed-kristaps-porzingis-experiment">hoisting their first</a> Larry O’Brien trophy has piqued the interest of many. But along with those three, winning a championship would mean so much for Al Horford, the 38-year old ageless wonder who’s in the last legs of his career.</p><p>Horford, however, is no mere passenger on a championship team. He has remained an invaluable member of the Celtics roster; with Kristaps Porzingis missing the majority of the NBA playoffs, the veteran big man has stepped up as the team’s starting center. In fact, the Celtics, perhaps in an attempt not to disrupt the team’s rhythm as well as to handle Porzingis with some caution, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-joe-mazzulla-explains-crucial-kristaps-porzingis-decision-game-1-win-vs-mavericks">have started Horford</a> through the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals as well.</p><p>In the Celtics’ 105-98 Game 2 win, Al Horford put up a stat line of five points, seven rebounds, and one steal. And in so doing, Horford <a href="https://x.com/hoopshype/status/1800254744109404384" rel="noopener">has surpassed</a> Bob Pettit in all-time playoff scoring, Dwight Howard in all-time playoff rebounds, and Allen Iverson in all-time playoff steals, as per HoopsHype. Horford now ranks 51st in playoff points total (with 2,245), 18th in rebounds (with 1,478), and 57th in steals (147).</p><p>Of course, it’s important to note that Horford has played in 183 playoff games and he should be a lock to play in at least two more for the Celtics. He is the second in all-time postseason games played among active players and he’s currently 16th overall — and a guarantee to finish 15th (as long as he stays healthy for the rest of the 2024 NBA Finals).</p><p>But is his longevity amid a wildly successful NBA career enough for the Celtics veteran to make it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when he hangs it up in a few years?</p><h2><b>Dissecting the Celtics veteran’s Hall of Fame candidacy</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Hawks-center-Al-Horford-15-grabs-a-rebound-over-Cleveland-Cavaliers-forward-LeBron-James-23.jpg"></figure><p>At present, Al Horford’s <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob.html" rel="noopener">Hall of Fame probability</a>, courtesy of Basketball Reference, isn’t too promising. His chances of making it to Springfield are pegged at 12 percent, which is only 27th among active players. He, in fact, is more unlikely to make the Hall of Fame, at least according to the statistic, than Finals opponent Luka Doncic, who is at 41.2 percent, and Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum, who is at 17.7 percent.</p><p>But Horford has been an instrumental part of plenty of winning teams, and he has also racked up a few accolades along the way. He made the All-Star team five times, made the All-NBA Third Team and the All-NBA Defensive Team once each. Horford has also made the playoffs in 16 of his 17 seasons in the NBA, with the only year he missed out on the festivities being 2021, when he was with the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>However, Al Horford’s counting stats in the regular season are not very impressive, at least relative to other Hall of Fame candidates. He has 14,167 career points and 8,574 total rebounds in 1078 games, which are good for averages of 13.1 points and 8.0 rebounds — numbers that don’t exactly jump off the page.</p><p>Of course, stats aren’t the be-all, end-all of one’s Hall of Fame candidacy. The stamp they left on the game matters as well. For instance, Ben Wallace made the Hall of Fame for being one of the best defensive players in history, racking up four DPOYs and five All-NBA selections — <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-best-moments-of-ben-wallaces-hall-of-fame-career-ranked">accolades that dwarf Horford’s</a>.</p><p>Perhaps the differentiator for Horford’s HOF candidacy is his body of work during his collegiate days. He won back-to-back national championships with Florida back in 2006 and 2007. Moreover, his legacy as a winner could be cemented should the Celtics finish off the Mavericks in this year’s NBA Finals. He also deserves credit for adjusting his game with the times (developing a three-point shot), being one of the most reliable defensive players in history, as well as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-how-al-horford-used-tom-brady-to-succeed-advanced-age">staving off decline</a> after he looked washed when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers.</p><p>It may take Horford some time to be enshrined in Springfield; his lacking accolades, numbers, and stamp on the game relative to other HOFers may make it difficult for him to make it in on the first ballot. He may be climbing the all-time playoff statistical ladder, but that is mostly due to the number of postseason games he has suited up in. But there is reason to believe that he will eventually get there, being a winner throughout his career who could finally get his due trophy if the Celtics win it all later this month.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Celtics’ Al Horford a future Hall of Famer after passing three legends in Game 2 win?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-al-horford-drops-truth-bomb-tumultuous-past-kyrie-irving');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford drops truth bomb about tumultuous past with Kyrie Irving');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Al-Horford-drops-truth-bomb-about-tumultuous-past-with-Kyrie-Irving.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford drops truth bomb about tumultuous past with Kyrie Irving</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-08T19:49:37-07:00">June 8th, 7:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-08T19:49:37-07:00">June 8th, 7:49pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One of the biggest narratives <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-magic-johnson-gets-hilariously-honest-on-nba-finals-pick-between-mavericks-celtics">spicing up the 2024 NBA Finals</a> is the relationship between Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Kyrie Irving <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-kyrie-irvings-head-scratching-opinion-relationship-with-boston-fans">and his former team</a>, the Boston Celtics. Irving played a couple of seasons wearing Boston colors from 2017 to 2019.</p><p>However, that part of his professional basketball career isn’t the most amiable for both sides. It’s for the same reason that Celtics fans boo Irving when he’s in Beantown and why Boston supporters showed up in Game 1 of the finals with a blow-up doll with his face on it and destroyed it following their team’s dominant 107-89 win over Luka Doncic and the Mavs.</p><p>While many Celtics fans continue to show their resentment for Irving, Irving’s former Boston teammate, Al Horford, has long been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5550966/2024/06/08/kyrie-irving-celtics-fans-boos/" rel="noopener">over the issue</a>.</p><p>“I don’t know if there’s much of a relationship, but there is a mutual respect,” Horford said, per The Athletic.</p><p>“Things happen in life and obviously things didn’t work out here how we wanted it. But it’s already been a few years, and in my eyes, I’m already looking past it. We’ve been over it. I feel like he’s over it, I feel like I’m over it and we’re looking to the next chapter,” the veteran big man added.</p><p>Irving landed in Boston in 2017 after reportedly asking the Cleveland Cavaliers to get him out of the shadows of four-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James. He got what he wanted as the Cavs sent him to the Celtics in a trade that got Cleveland Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft which ultimately got used to pick Alabama Crimson Tide star Collin Sexton. In Irving’s first season with the Celtics, they came just a win short of advancing to the finals, as they lost in the NBA Eastern Conference championship series against, well, James and the Cavs. Irving, however, did not play in that postseason due to an injury and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23631844/kyrie-irving-boston-celtics-does-not-attend-game-7-due-deviated-septum-surgery" rel="noopener">didn’t show up</a> in Game 7 of the Cavaliers series to show support for his teammates in person.</p><p>“Kyrie had a deviated septum, had some surgery on that, and so I don’t think he wanted to be seen,” then Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said about Irving’s absence. “He’s a really good-looking guy. He can’t ruin his movie career.”</p><p>The following season, the Celtics made it back to the playoffs but got eliminated in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks, four games to one. Irving struggled with his shot during that playoff ride, and his troubles offensively got highlighted further in the Bucks series where he averaged 20.4 points on just 36.5 percent shooting from the floor and a brutal 21.9 3-point shooting percentage.</p><p>Irving then took his talents to the Brooklyn Nets even though he hinted at re-signing with the Celtics months earlier.</p><h2><b>Horford, Celtics looking to bury Mavericks deeper</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mavericks-star-Kyrie-Irving-guarded-by-Celtics-Al-Horford.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Amid all the drama brought about by Irving’s history in Boston is Horford and the Celtics, who want nothing more than to bring NBA title No. 18 to the franchise. They have already taken a big step closer to that goal with their Game 1 victory where Horford played well, scoring 10 points with seven rebounds, and three assists to go with two 3-pointers. As for Irving, he got contained by Boston’s defense, going just 6/19 on his attempts from the field for 12 points.</p><p>Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals is set for Sunday night in Boston at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
8.8	5.4	2.2	0.9	0.7

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
8.8	5.4	2.2	0.9	0.7

Al Horford news

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