Boston Celtics: Al Horford Signing Earns More Praise
Another former NBA player likes Al Horford’s fit with the Boston Celtics.
As the 2016-17 NBA season is about to get underway, Boston Celtics fans are excited about the how far this team can go. Much of that excitement revolves around the addition of All-Star forward Al Horford. But fans aren’t the only ones excited about what Horford will bring to the team.
Former NBA player and current NBA TV analyst Dennis Scott has been watching Horford for years and offered his own insight on why the signing was the right one for the Celtics.
"“I think he gives them confidence every night that you have a guy that’s going to come and battle,” Scott said via the Boston Herald. “He’s not going to be that rah-rah guy. He’s not going to be fist pumping and doing all that crazy stuff — not saying any names — but he’s a different kind of guy.”"
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On the court, Horford will open up scoring opportunities for some of the other players and will be a nice pick-and-pop option. His consistency scoring inside and range will help the Celtics’ offense tremendously and defensively he will be a good rim protector, which is something the Celtics desperately need.
That aside, Scott also likes what Horford brings to the locker room.
"“In the locker room, he’s going to come in and calm things down,” Scott said. “It’s a long season, and when things get a little rattled, Al’s that calming voice that comes in and says, ‘Guys, let’s relax. Let’s relax for a second. Let’s gather ourselves and get back to playing great basketball.’“That’s the kind of thing that the average fan doesn’t see every day in the game that makes a big difference for a team.”"
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Former Celtics great Kevin McHale also gave praise to the signing. Like Scott, he likes what Al Horford brings to Boston, but feels the Celtics are still another superstar away from making LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers sweat.