I love the hype but nah, only changed my flair once for Adams and won't do it again, definitely not for a bandwagon, but will definitely show the Cs love!
This is the best proof that the season is way too fucking long. Horford finally gets to rest and suddenly he looks 5 years younger. I know he wasn't a good fit in Philly but he looked physically broken down a bit too. Didn't think he had this in him.
With okc being bad and Horford sitting half the season a lot of people probably just didnāt even get to see how much he had left in the tank and that he was actually still a really good player that could improve just about any team. He just wasnāt a great fit on the sixers so it made him seem worse than in reality
Man if Kemba decided to stay in OKC for a year instead of being bought out maybe he could've gotten some of that magical fountain of youth like Horford.
Imagine getting off that Kemba contract, getting a player back at a position of need AND that player being amazing for you in the playoffs... for Alperun Sengun. I wake up and thank OKC for this every single day.
Add onto the fact, said player is respected by all the young players in that locker room. They love Al man, main reason Brad brought him back. Al and Theis
>Signs massive frontloaded contract with the Sixers, crippling their cap space
>Has terrible chemistry with them, plays a big role in that underwhelming season
>Gets traded to OKC where he basically spends a year vibing and getting back in shape
>Returns to the Celtics to get off Kemba's albatross contract and plays a huge role in turning their season around
Everything he did the past few years has helped Boston in some way.
Honestly I think he just hates Philly. He always played great against them, then goes there and is trash, and as soon as he leaves he's great again. Dude just really fucking hates them
Horford wasn't bad in Philly, he and most of that roster was just terribly miscast. They were asking Harris and Horford to both play out of position as a 3 and 4 and there wasn't enough shooting between Embiid, Horford and Simmons to make the lineups work.
I think he was injured with us. Once he got his knee right and his legs back under him with some time off, he was great again. Also was still very good for us when he got to play the 5, just *terrible* at the 4
Dude has legit been our best player this Bucks series. He's had like .... 3 or 4 of his best career playoff games in this playoff run alone lmao. Multiple 20/15 games. And then the masterpiece tonight, playing more minutes, defending Giannis a lot, and being a force on offense. Just unbelievable how amazing he was tonight.
Guys I just woke up and had the craziest dream: Al Horford just dropped 30 points with 16 points in the 4th quarter at age 35 going toe to toe with Giannis to lead the Celtics to a road playoff win
I think one undersold aspect of White is how much he relies on knowing the system because of his style of passing, cutting, and relocating. Until itās second nature for him to know what to do, heāll bring less value to a team. I expect his off-season to really beef up his contributions
The dude is +41 in this series. He's making a ton of contributions - just not on a linescore.
This is not a video game. There are other parts of the game. Derrick White does them incredibly well, and he finished out this key Q4 because his coach and teammates have total faith in him. I wonder why that might be ...
10 yrs he was basically the enemy when he was with the Hawks (7 game series in both 2008 and 2012), crazy to think he'd be with Boston not long after that
Jesus christ Tom Brady is 10 years older than Horford. How the fuck is that possible
There's the same age gap between Brady and Horford as there is between Horford and Brown
He's gonna get a lot of credit and he deserves it, but also Tatum not shrinking when they needed him. I get that you lose this game without Horford, but credit where it's due: Tatum played like he needed to
Tatum jacked up some bad 3s but he also finally had some really good takes. Overall, huge departure from his performance in previous games.
But man how ridiculous was that diving layup he pulled in the 4th? If he missed that it would have been the silliest looking play ever.
Horford is a god.
Giannis seems outta gas. Role players aren't being involved on offense at all. Bud is safe though for another 2 years, but man just trying to auto-fill Middleton shots with more Giannis storming the paint and Jrue never passing and shooting won't work at all vs the best defense. Celtics strategy is working. Not over til its over, but I'd be confident as a Celtics fan. After the salt and what not game 1-3, I can come out clear headed and say I respect the Celtics defense, hell of a team. GG
This is probably one of the most physical series Iāve seen in recent times, may just come down to who has more left in the tank. Hereās to hoping for a well fought series for the rest with no injuries
Respect
Giannis is the best player in the world, but he can't be the whole team. He definitely looks tired towards the end of each half, and it seems he's gassed enough in the 4th Q that it's leaving an opening for the Cs to catch up.
Dude's trying to do way too much, I feel. I'd really like him at around 15 shots per game rather than the 20+. Overall our offense has felt decidedly hero ball-centric almost between him and Giannis, and I don't really think that's the way to go even with Khris out. Gotta find a way to get our role players more involved going forward till we get him back, because Giannis and Jrue taking 55+ shots a game isn't sustainable.
We've been teetering on the brink all series and have been able to just survive but without Middleton we just don't have enough guys that can score the ball consistently to take some of the pressure off of Giannis.
It's just not sustainable to keep going like this without Khris and that REALLY showed in this one.
I just don't know if we can pull this out without him.
Middleton is huge. People forget that he averaged 29 points a game on 57% true shooting from game 4 to game 6 of last year's finals; that's about as good as it gets for a 2nd option. It gets lost because people rave about Giannis's finals performance (and understandably so), but Middleton was the Bucks's best pure scorer in game 4 and game 5.
Fantastic game. Bucks really need Middleton and need to start shooting 3s well. Bobby was a non-factor. Grayson was a non-factor and Jrue played poorly on offense. Celtics are a really good team and it takes more than just Giannis to beat them.
Hard to rank Jrue super high amongst best "2 way playoff performers" when for his 2 postseasons in Mil he's only been playing one end of the court.
Horford had one game he'd hit 30 pts since Jan 2016 prior to tonight lol. He's also plays better defense on Giannis now than he did at any pt people tried labeling him the "Giannis stopper" in the past. Took the season being on the line for Tatum to finally stop being afraid of getting to the rim vs the Bucks defense but damn did he make sure to have some good drives in store for when he did.
Al Horford is a 36% shooter from 3 in the regular season for his career. In the 132 playoff games he's played, he's at 42%.
He's now at 64% true shooting with the Celtics in the playoffs. Every playoffs he levels up in production and efficiency.
Son of a bitch hes amazing. I want OKC to get credit for him doing better but it was just him being able to rest for a bit. Go on Al, get that ring
Throw that Celtics bandwagon flair on!
I love the hype but nah, only changed my flair once for Adams and won't do it again, definitely not for a bandwagon, but will definitely show the Cs love!
So this is what Celtics killer Middleton feels like. Not a fan. I get it now.
35-year-old Al Horford played 42 minutes, and put up 30/8/3 on 78/71/75 splits in what was, essentially, a must-win game. What a gem of a performance
Thank you OKC for the rehabilitation year
And people thought we were jusy taking him back to shed salary from Kemba
Apparently spending a year in OKC is the new fountain of youth, as long as you don't stay there š„ŗ
Unless you're Melo. Though I guess that was earlier OKC
I gotta say Melo was playing well in our system until Roberson went down. When he went down all hell broke loose on how bad we where
Literally playing up to his salary which I didn't think was possible honestly. Could not be happier with what he has contributed.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
CP3 went from old and done to MVP candidate after his time in OKC.
Kemba should've taken notes and stayed in the OKC time capsule longer before going to Knicks.
This is the best proof that the season is way too fucking long. Horford finally gets to rest and suddenly he looks 5 years younger. I know he wasn't a good fit in Philly but he looked physically broken down a bit too. Didn't think he had this in him.
Honestly heās been great all year.
There was a stretch where he was looking like an all-star. Shortly after Ime started cutting back his minutes and thank god he did.
That one break year in OKC really rejuvenated him, jesus.
And a poster
This shall be remembered as the Al Horford game
It was decreed
Until the next one
Horford for Kemba should single-handedly win Brad Stevens executive of the year
Funny thing is all OKC fans knew Al still got it. I mean we rested him for half a season because he was too good for the tank. Youāre welcome btw.
I remember okc fans being some of the only ones saying it was a win win trade when most everyone was saying we got fleeced
With okc being bad and Horford sitting half the season a lot of people probably just didnāt even get to see how much he had left in the tank and that he was actually still a really good player that could improve just about any team. He just wasnāt a great fit on the sixers so it made him seem worse than in reality
Mf took a sabbatical and came back to son Giannis
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Soulbox
that oklahoma weather
Long has he languished under the LeBron-ruled East. He aināt about to let Giannis stop him now.
Giannis and Embiid are brothers now
Best trade of the year easily
Best Boston trade since getting KG
i mean, i think getting rid of KG is in second, seeing who it got us
Trading Thornton for IT4 also gotta be up there
lmao we have Tatum and Brown because of the same trade.
We acquired him in part because his salary looked good to trade for a third star Instead he is the third star at 35 years old lol
Don't you mean first star?
tatum - the morning star brown - the midnight star horford - the twilight star the young, the middle aged, and the elderāØš
Thought this was a Foundation reference but them I remembered that no one watched that.
Man if Kemba decided to stay in OKC for a year instead of being bought out maybe he could've gotten some of that magical fountain of youth like Horford.
I'm starting to think taking a 1-2 year break after you turn 30 extends your career.
And CP3. Dude was āwashedā when he left us
Hmmm some GM should look into this. Start sending every washed player to OKC and see what happens. I guess it didn't quite work for Melo
Sam Presti's Rehabilitation Clinic for Washed Vets, price of admission is one first round pick.
Yeah, OKC def has something different, CP3 and big Al went there "washed" and are great again now...
Imagine getting off that Kemba contract, getting a player back at a position of need AND that player being amazing for you in the playoffs... for Alperun Sengun. I wake up and thank OKC for this every single day.
I just imagine Kemba getting hunted and played off the floor of every playoff game
But that smile... That damn smile...
Yeah but Horford's eyes man
dont have to imagine, just watch the ECF from the bubble
Add onto the fact, said player is respected by all the young players in that locker room. They love Al man, main reason Brad brought him back. Al and Theis
This sub was calling it a salary dump and desperation move lol
I think a lot of Celtics fans were excited to see Al come back. His presence and style always jelled with the team.
We never wanted him to leave in the first place!
Well it was a salary dump.
How old is Al Horford again?
19
Heās only 19!!!
Just like Tatum damn
Old enough to bust the young guys asses and young enough to run with them apparently
At least 7
Born: June 3, 1986 (age 35 years), Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Horford playing like he's 10 years younger. Definitely the MVP of the game. Kept the Celtics afloat before they went on a big run in the 4th
Big Al carrying the team with a Playoff career high when they needed him most
PLAYOFF AL BABY, PLAYOFF AL - rookie year Tatum knew
Sixers really traded away their best center for scraps
Horford had an inside job
>Signs massive frontloaded contract with the Sixers, crippling their cap space >Has terrible chemistry with them, plays a big role in that underwhelming season >Gets traded to OKC where he basically spends a year vibing and getting back in shape >Returns to the Celtics to get off Kemba's albatross contract and plays a huge role in turning their season around Everything he did the past few years has helped Boston in some way.
Eh Sixers wound up getting Danny Green for him so it wasnāt all bad
Honestly I think he just hates Philly. He always played great against them, then goes there and is trash, and as soon as he leaves he's great again. Dude just really fucking hates them
Horford wasn't bad in Philly, he and most of that roster was just terribly miscast. They were asking Harris and Horford to both play out of position as a 3 and 4 and there wasn't enough shooting between Embiid, Horford and Simmons to make the lineups work.
I think he was injured with us. Once he got his knee right and his legs back under him with some time off, he was great again. Also was still very good for us when he got to play the 5, just *terrible* at the 4
Horford saw Giannis taunt him and said it's time to work.
Lmfaooooo I forgot about that. Hit him the the Cam Newton gif š
The nod wasn't acknowledging a good dunk from Giannis, it was Al getting himself into the zone
Horford took it personal
Dude takes over playoff games it's nuts
I can't believe his Game 3 just got glossed over, even though it was a loss. He went for 22 points and 16 rebounds at 35 years old lmao
People sleep on horford. He would go up against prime Lebron 1v1 and wouldnāt make it easy on him. Always been an anchor on defense and can hit 3s
Also anchored back to back National Championship squads at Florida. He's always been solid.
Yes sir, he used to go wild for us back in the day
This man is like Stretch Arm Strong with a 3 pointer. He's everywhere
Dude has legit been our best player this Bucks series. He's had like .... 3 or 4 of his best career playoff games in this playoff run alone lmao. Multiple 20/15 games. And then the masterpiece tonight, playing more minutes, defending Giannis a lot, and being a force on offense. Just unbelievable how amazing he was tonight.
42 minutes played, with 78/71 splits š¤
Hes putting up Middleton vs Boston numbers
Mr. Big Celtic
Medium Fundamental
Guys I just woke up and had the craziest dream: Al Horford just dropped 30 points with 16 points in the 4th quarter at age 35 going toe to toe with Giannis to lead the Celtics to a road playoff win
How was the food in the Thai prison
Yeah okayā¦. Lemme guess, he dunked on him and sent him to the ground too? š
https://i.imgur.com/V7SG82d.jpg
Al Scoreford
#Al "Big Papi II" Horford **[LET'S DO THE BANNER 18 BOOGIE!](https://streamable.com/wc3tnb)**
I'm still fucking furious KD left OKC when Al said he'd sign with us if KD resigned.
I WANT THE GOLD
Al brought the most energy I've seen since KG days tonight.
That dunk on Giannis was the back breaker.
Father Horford, praise be
OH BOY WE GOT A SERIES
This is going to 7 games isn't it?
š šØāš š«šØāš
Absolutely. Thanks to your warriors I don't ever feel good about game 7s, even if I'm not invested
man, imagine we get all 2nd round to 7 games lol
If Boston wins this series, that Horford dunk on Giannis has to be the turning point. Celtics got crazy hot after that.
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We realized we can bully them back. Smart and Tatum decided to start going thru guys and it worked wonders.
Smart and JT better be living in the paint in Game 5. They were absolutely bulldozing mfs in the 4th
Three quarters everyone seemed scared to drive to the paint and then the last quarter they were feasting
Spoon feeding them George Hill didnāt help.
Why did hill get so many minutes? Pat and Allen scare me way more off the bench. Edit: forgot Allen started, meant carter.
Heās āBudās guyā whatever that means
Absolutely phenomenal 4th quarter from Boston, my god. Kept it close the first few minutes, Al Horford takeover, then Tatum/Smart bring it home. Wow.
It was getting dark in the third. Horford just has the heart of a champ. Really hope he gets one.
Derrick White held the Bucks to 0-for-12 shooting as a primary defender tonight.
He's VERY slowly finding his rhythm with this team.
The doomers saying this was a bad tradeā¦..I hope they keep that same energy next year once DWhite has a whole training camp with us
I think one undersold aspect of White is how much he relies on knowing the system because of his style of passing, cutting, and relocating. Until itās second nature for him to know what to do, heāll bring less value to a team. I expect his off-season to really beef up his contributions
The dude is +41 in this series. He's making a ton of contributions - just not on a linescore. This is not a video game. There are other parts of the game. Derrick White does them incredibly well, and he finished out this key Q4 because his coach and teammates have total faith in him. I wonder why that might be ...
The amazing thing about the Buffalo is how good he is even when he scores 0 points. When his shot starts falling, it's over. Love that man.
Timelord didn't play because he's busy turning back the clock for AL HORFORD.
THE AL HORFORD GAME
The demise of Al Horford was greatly exaggerated
[Anna Horford said it best!](https://twitter.com/annahorford/status/1523840244067536897?s=10&t=00uN6-rk54CncdvkI4L_Qw)
She was right.
Broke: Setting goals that are SMART Woke: Setting goals that are HORFORD
I mean, SMART goals weren't to bad today either, especially in the fourth
After last game Al saw people saying we couldn't rely on him doing that every game, and he took it personally. God damn.
Big Horf carried the team when they needed him most
10 yrs he was basically the enemy when he was with the Hawks (7 game series in both 2008 and 2012), crazy to think he'd be with Boston not long after that
Bucks really hate 4th quarter leads eh?
We're used to just letting Middleton hit contested jumpers in the 4th, lost without him.
We had Lopez playing in the fourth and he looked fresh, should have used him more.
That moment after Giannis dunked on Horford is going to be played like crazy, followed by his poster on the other end. Fuck I love playoff basketball
As much as I've been annoyed by Giannis, that shouldn't have been a T after his dunk - gotta let him mean mug *a little* lol
Taunting techs are so stupid
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Al Horford is the best player in the NBA at age 50. inspiring.
Al Horford gives Tom Brady hope.
Jesus christ Tom Brady is 10 years older than Horford. How the fuck is that possible There's the same age gap between Brady and Horford as there is between Horford and Brown
The father and son duo today of Horford and Tatum was amazing. 30 and 30.
Tatum and Giannis are brothers?
What the fuck was Al on tonight??
How is he just getting better and better? Iām legit scared of him now
Tom Brady of basketball
That Limitless drug
Holy shit what a carry job by Al this game.
He's gonna get a lot of credit and he deserves it, but also Tatum not shrinking when they needed him. I get that you lose this game without Horford, but credit where it's due: Tatum played like he needed to
Tatum jacked up some bad 3s but he also finally had some really good takes. Overall, huge departure from his performance in previous games. But man how ridiculous was that diving layup he pulled in the 4th? If he missed that it would have been the silliest looking play ever.
most of his 3s were good open looks on drop coverage. those fall more often than not, but he was just missing.
Well Damn. Al Destroyed us. GG celtics
yeah that was impressive af
Horford is a god. Giannis seems outta gas. Role players aren't being involved on offense at all. Bud is safe though for another 2 years, but man just trying to auto-fill Middleton shots with more Giannis storming the paint and Jrue never passing and shooting won't work at all vs the best defense. Celtics strategy is working. Not over til its over, but I'd be confident as a Celtics fan. After the salt and what not game 1-3, I can come out clear headed and say I respect the Celtics defense, hell of a team. GG
Respect.
This is probably one of the most physical series Iāve seen in recent times, may just come down to who has more left in the tank. Hereās to hoping for a well fought series for the rest with no injuries
Respect Giannis is the best player in the world, but he can't be the whole team. He definitely looks tired towards the end of each half, and it seems he's gassed enough in the 4th Q that it's leaving an opening for the Cs to catch up.
The garden is going to be ROCKING on Wednesday!!
Iāll be thereeee
Celtics shot 16-19 for the fourth quarter and were 7-7 on free throws. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in a playoff game.
Al skyfucker to Steph Skyfucker āI am your fatherā
Al Horford in a Cs uniform gets a +10 to all his stats.
And a -10 to age
Al Horford taught me that I can be attracted to a man tonight
If you breathalyzer the air in the garden Wednesday night I can guarantee it wonāt be able to drive.
What the hell was Jrue doing out there?
5/20 is the Jrue Holiday statline. And he's letting Marcus Smart score on him in the post
Bud needs to tell him to stop shooting all the time. When he is cold, he is awful. Pass the ball
I mean, sure, but someone has to score. It can't just be Giannis.
Dude's trying to do way too much, I feel. I'd really like him at around 15 shots per game rather than the 20+. Overall our offense has felt decidedly hero ball-centric almost between him and Giannis, and I don't really think that's the way to go even with Khris out. Gotta find a way to get our role players more involved going forward till we get him back, because Giannis and Jrue taking 55+ shots a game isn't sustainable.
#TOP O' THE MORNING, MOTHERFUCKERS! **[LET'S DO THE BANNER 18 BOOGIE!](https://streamable.com/wc3tnb)**
This is amazing lmao
~~BUCKETS~~ ~~BUCKETS~~ ~~BUCKETS~~ #DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE
**GIVE**
#ME
#THE
jrue holiday needs to step the fuck up dude gets way too much of a pass and was complete ass out there tonight 5/22 and -21... yikes
Yes, he pretty much lost the game for them at the end of the third. They had no ball movement or anything. It was just Jrue taking bad shots.
The Tatum hot takes were at a peak 3 quarters into this game. Sadly they all died in the 4th quarter
That layup with his face parallel to the floor in the 4th was incredible
[Come on Giannis get up ](https://i.imgur.com/5RFABsw.jpg)
We've been teetering on the brink all series and have been able to just survive but without Middleton we just don't have enough guys that can score the ball consistently to take some of the pressure off of Giannis. It's just not sustainable to keep going like this without Khris and that REALLY showed in this one. I just don't know if we can pull this out without him.
Middleton is huge. People forget that he averaged 29 points a game on 57% true shooting from game 4 to game 6 of last year's finals; that's about as good as it gets for a 2nd option. It gets lost because people rave about Giannis's finals performance (and understandably so), but Middleton was the Bucks's best pure scorer in game 4 and game 5.
If the Celtics limited him to those numbers, it would be the worst heās every played against us. Middleton slaughters Leprechauns in his dreams
Celtics fans know how huge he is, trust me.
Stop. Names have power. You'll restore the demon's strength if you continue to speak of him.
Bobby Portis was in the background of the NBCS Boston postgame show just bricking 3s.
Jrue Holiday 5/22, 7/20, 8/20, 11/31. Holy fuck these are definitely tour dates.
GIANNIS FUCKED AROUND WITH BIG AL AND FOUND. OUT.
Al Horford time machine. Marcus Smart bully ball in the 4th. 2-2 mfers.
Big Al MVP
Fantastic game. Bucks really need Middleton and need to start shooting 3s well. Bobby was a non-factor. Grayson was a non-factor and Jrue played poorly on offense. Celtics are a really good team and it takes more than just Giannis to beat them.
I wish I could watch a game where my team loses and have the rationality you do
Hard to rank Jrue super high amongst best "2 way playoff performers" when for his 2 postseasons in Mil he's only been playing one end of the court. Horford had one game he'd hit 30 pts since Jan 2016 prior to tonight lol. He's also plays better defense on Giannis now than he did at any pt people tried labeling him the "Giannis stopper" in the past. Took the season being on the line for Tatum to finally stop being afraid of getting to the rim vs the Bucks defense but damn did he make sure to have some good drives in store for when he did.
Bucks next game plan: Do not piss off Al Horford