The 2022 NBA Finals have arrived with the Boston Celtics matched up against the Golden State Warriors in a battle for the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Ahead of the opening game, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn took a look at both teams’ rosters and ranked each player from one to 30, breaking them up into five tiers along the way. That tiering system is comprised of — from lowest to highest — out of the picture, rotate, use, play and trust. Gator great [autotag]Al Horford[/autotag] earned a spot in the top 10 among the “trust” tier at No. 8, with this short blurb offered by Quinn.
Horford’s game is all subtlety. He can be the best player on the floor without scoring a single point.
Funny enough, the exact opposite played out on Thursday night when the former Florida forward dropped a team-high 26 points, including a 6-for-8 effort from behind the stripe, in his NBA Finals debut to lead the Celtics over the Warriors. Amazingly, his six three-pointers edged out LeBron James for the oldest player to have made at least five in the Finals.
With two NCAA Championships already on his mantle, another trophy would fit in quite nicely for a player still chugging away in the twilight of his career. An MVP award would look even nicer.
[mm-video type=video id=01g4jsyyjkkjddstswzn playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g4jsyyjkkjddstswzn/01g4jsyyjkkjddstswzn-780ce28ae76926c85d91fc45304f2258.jpg]
[lawrence-related id=84954]
[vertical-gallery id=18278]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!