Al Horford averaging 15 points, 6 assists, 9.5 rebounds in this playoff series.

[mctyson]

Only other player in the post season with 15+PPG, 9+RPG, and 6+APG is Lebron.

I wasn't thrilled with Al's rebounding this season but was thrilled with all the other parts of his game(some will say he needs to score more but he is a third offensive option on this team so I never had a problem with his scoring). I think his quiet leadership skills and elite passing ability helped to show me he was worth the max.

Now with his post season, I am sure he is worth the max. Also, if he lures another max level talent to the Celtics, he will have been money well spent.

He always was, but I am still scratching my head as to why people care about his contract?  The Celtics had to pay him that or he would be on OKC or WAS.

He has been the Cs best player this whole series and he if continues to be, watch out.

[Moranis]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

[Hank Finkel]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I agree Durant is a max guy, Horford is not even close.  He is a good all around player but no where near a max.  IT is worth significantly more right now than Horford

[Moranis]

Only other player in the post season with 15+PPG, 9+RPG, and 6+APG is Lebron.

I wasn't thrilled with Al's rebounding this season but was thrilled with all the other parts of his game(some will say he needs to score more but he is a third offensive option on this team so I never had a problem with his scoring). I think his quiet leadership skills and elite passing ability helped to show me he was worth the max.

Now with his post season, I am sure he is worth the max. Also, if he lures another max level talent to the Celtics, he will have been money well spent.

Westbrook averaged a triple double in the playoffs. George was 1 reboind shy of coursr he scired 28 per.  Draymond Green was 5 points shy and added over 4 blocks a game.

[Big333223]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I don't really understand this. The C's got the 2nd best free agent on the market at market value. They had to spend money on someone. What free agent would you have rather seen them bring in last summer and at what price?

[Moranis]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I don't really understand this. The C's got the 2nd best free agent on the market at market value. They had to spend money on someone. What free agent would you have rather seen them bring in last summer and at what price?

I've gone on record many times that I would have signed multiple lesser individual players on shorter contracts and then gone into this summer with more than max space and the ability to create 2 max spots if needed and tried again.  The lesser players on the whole would have provided more depth, rebounding, etc.  Horford is not a player that put Boston into a true contender status, who is on the wrong side of 30, and who doesn't fit the Boston core's timeline at all.  He just didn't make sense as a signing without Durant. 

[Big333223]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I don't really understand this. The C's got the 2nd best free agent on the market at market value. They had to spend money on someone. What free agent would you have rather seen them bring in last summer and at what price?

I've gone on record many times that I would have signed multiple lesser individual players on shorter contracts and then gone into this summer with more than max space and the ability to create 2 max spots if needed and tried again.  The lesser players on the whole would have provided more depth, rebounding, etc.  Horford is not a player that put Boston into a true contender status, who is on the wrong side of 30, and who doesn't fit the Boston core's timeline at all.  He just didn't make sense as a signing without Durant.

The C's wound up having to cut or reassign multiple players prior to the season starting. There was no room on the roster for "multiple lesser individual players."

And I wonder who those players would have even been, had the roster spaces been available? I also wonder why you would've wanted to go into this summer with max room when it's unlikely the Celtics will land even one big free agent let alone two.

[chambers]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

But let's say we make the ECF and lose to the Cavs with Horford contributing as greatly as he has been so far (and yes, it's only been 5 games of a potential 21), but let's say we get to the ECF and he keeps averaging 15/6/9.5 with his solid D...

You wouldn't say 'sign me up right away'? Because I would.
Al's 3 point shooting has been very, very good this year as a 7 footer which has changed our offense and spacing for IT. It's not just his good, solid play. It's his versatility on offense that has made IT become a top 3 scorer. and given us a legitimate post presence, something we haven't had since KG. A post threat that has the best assist numbers in the NBA of all centers. Imagine him on a team with a few more consistent scorers like Paul George or Butler catching his crisp perimeter passes.
 Also important to remember that he missed almost 2 full seasons with the torn pectoral injuries. That's 2 less seasons of NBA wear on those legs- which should give him some kind of benefit as he gets older. He's been a top 20 NBA player in the playoffs so far.

If he continues and we succeed and he keeps up similar numbers, then hell...
Sign me up all day every day.

[Moranis]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I don't really understand this. The C's got the 2nd best free agent on the market at market value. They had to spend money on someone. What free agent would you have rather seen them bring in last summer and at what price?

I've gone on record many times that I would have signed multiple lesser individual players on shorter contracts and then gone into this summer with more than max space and the ability to create 2 max spots if needed and tried again.  The lesser players on the whole would have provided more depth, rebounding, etc.  Horford is not a player that put Boston into a true contender status, who is on the wrong side of 30, and who doesn't fit the Boston core's timeline at all.  He just didn't make sense as a signing without Durant.

The C's wound up having to cut or reassign multiple players prior to the season starting. There was no room on the roster for "multiple lesser individual players."

And I wonder who those players would have even been, had the roster spaces been available? I also wonder why you would've wanted to go into this summer with max room when it's unlikely the Celtics will land even one big free agent let alone two.

No Horford, no Zeller, no Green is 3 spots.  That would be multiple players.

[Moranis]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

But let's say we make the ECF and lose to the Cavs with Horford contributing as greatly as he has been so far (and yes, it's only been 5 games of a potential 21), but let's say we get to the ECF and he keeps averaging 15/6/9.5 with his solid D...

You wouldn't say 'sign me up right away'? Because I would.
Al's 3 point shooting has been very, very good this year as a 7 footer which has changed our offense and spacing for IT. It's not just his good, solid play. It's his versatility on offense that has made IT become a top 3 scorer. and given us a legitimate post presence, something we haven't had since KG. A post threat that has the best assist numbers in the NBA of all centers. Imagine him on a team with a few more consistent scorers like Paul George or Butler catching his crisp perimeter passes.
 Also important to remember that he missed almost 2 full seasons with the torn pectoral injuries. That's 2 less seasons of NBA wear on those legs- which should give him some kind of benefit as he gets older. He's been a top 20 NBA player in the playoffs so far.

If he continues and we succeed and he keeps up similar numbers, then hell...
Sign me up all day every day.

I wouldn't. I'd rather have the space for younger players that fit the timeline better. No Horford on  the roster also meant someone like Ibaka or Noel could have been acquired at the deadline and still would have allowed max room for Hayward, Griffin, etc

[CelticsElite]

He's doing what we wanted him for. Yes

[Big333223]

Why are people equating 5 games to a whole season? At his peak Horford was a 3rd best type player on a title team and he has pretty steadily getting worse.  If Boston had signed Durant then Horford made sense but on his own it was a bad signing because he just isn't good enough.

I don't really understand this. The C's got the 2nd best free agent on the market at market value. They had to spend money on someone. What free agent would you have rather seen them bring in last summer and at what price?

I've gone on record many times that I would have signed multiple lesser individual players on shorter contracts and then gone into this summer with more than max space and the ability to create 2 max spots if needed and tried again.  The lesser players on the whole would have provided more depth, rebounding, etc.  Horford is not a player that put Boston into a true contender status, who is on the wrong side of 30, and who doesn't fit the Boston core's timeline at all.  He just didn't make sense as a signing without Durant.

The C's wound up having to cut or reassign multiple players prior to the season starting. There was no room on the roster for "multiple lesser individual players."

And I wonder who those players would have even been, had the roster spaces been available? I also wonder why you would've wanted to go into this summer with max room when it's unlikely the Celtics will land even one big free agent let alone two.

No Horford, no Zeller, no Green is 3 spots.  That would be multiple players.

You still haven't given an exmple of what players you would've gone after last summer or why having more money this coming summer would've been preferable, when the C's are still unlikely to nab a max level free agent.

[SparzWizard]

Al Horford's performance was phenomenal in Game 1 against the Wizards, particularly in the second half. Kudos to the near triple-double statistics. But I think he could've stepped it up a bit in the first half as well. 4 points and 3 rebounds with that type of contract, I was just shaking my head the whole time lol. Was anyone else frustrated during the first half with his stats?

[nickagneta]

Al Horford's performance was phenomenal in Game 1 against the Wizards, particularly in the second half. Kudos to the near triple-double statistics. But I think he could've stepped it up a bit in the first half as well. 4 points and 3 rebounds with that type of contract, I was just shaking my head the whole time lol. Was anyone else frustrated during the first half with his stats?

The man gets paid per game, not per half. He had a great game. Sometimes you have a bad quarter or half and make up for it by dominating another qusrter of half to have a good to great overall game. Even Lebron isn't dominant in every quarter and half he plays in.  Thats just ridiculously unrealistic. In a tremendoys win Horford was excellent for the game...thats what matters. You can't expect every player to be great every minute they are on the floor, regardless of what they make.

[crimson_stallion]

Only other player in the post season with 15+PPG, 9+RPG, and 6+APG is Lebron.

I wasn't thrilled with Al's rebounding this season but was thrilled with all the other parts of his game(some will say he needs to score more but he is a third offensive option on this team so I never had a problem with his scoring). I think his quiet leadership skills and elite passing ability helped to show me he was worth the max.

Now with his post season, I am sure he is worth the max. Also, if he lures another max level talent to the Celtics, he will have been money well spent.

He always was, but I am still scratching my head as to why people care about his contract?  The Celtics had to pay him that or he would be on OKC or WAS.

He has been the Cs best player this whole series and he if continues to be, watch out.

I disagree with you on all three counts.

1) He was not always worth his contract.  His performance with the Hawks last season was worth $20M at the most, and his performance for us during the regular season was even worse.  He was so mediocre through the majority of the season that he was making me regret that we signed him, and wishing we took Sully for $6M a year instead...since he wasn't playing any better the Sully had for us on average. 

2) The Celtics did not have to pay him.  We could have taken Dwight for $10m less potentially.  We could have held the cap space for this season, when we'd have had enough for two max salary players.  We could have saved that cap space and used it to be able to absorb the contract of a guy like Cousins, Melo, Butler or George while still maintaining cap flexibility for this coming offseason.  We had lots of options, we certainly did not HAVE to pay him.

3) I don't feel he's been our best player in the playoffs at all/.  I'd say Thomas has been far and away our best player, with Bradley and Horford in a close battle for #2 - though Horford probably edges AB out for that one.  But there is by no means any clear indication that Horford has been our best player - he's been very good though.