It’s no secret that Al Horford has had an up and down season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers had a vision of he and Joel Embiid forming one of the more formidable duos in the league, but that only came to fruition on the defensive end of the floor while the offense struggled mightily.
A move that made sense on paper was to have Al Horford go to the bench which is what coach Brett Brown did inside the bubble. It is a move that made sense on paper, but it was still worth questioning when one considers Horford’s resume.
He is a 5-time All-Star, he has a tendency of stepping his game up when the time calls for it, and he has been deep into the playoffs a few times in his career.
Al’s sister, Anna Horford, joined The Bell Ringer Podcast to preview the Sixers-Celtics series and she had a few thoughts on the situation with her brother:
Hopefully, you’ll see more of Al. I thought that it was a really strange move for Brett Brown to bench Al. He’s never not started ever in his entire career and I understand that they really wanted the bench to have to come in really strongly so they added Al to the bench. I think that there have been some questionable choices on how they’re using him. Al is a major playoff player. He’s never not made the playoffs his entire career and everyone knows that’s when he really shines. So it’s like steady, steady throughout the season, but then the playoffs come around and he turns into playoff Al. He’s on a different level, essentially and Philly should know that better than anybody because he gave them a really hard time in the playoffs.
Now, before people are up in arms, remember that this is her brother. Of course, she is going to stick up for him. In her defense, Horford did give the Sixers some major trouble when the two teams matched up in the 2018 playoffs. He bothered both Embiid and Simmons and the team does remember that as Brown now hopes that he can flip things in favor of the Sixers.
For now, he is back in the starting lineup due to the Simmons injury, but who knows how that will look in the future when he returns from his injury? It will be something to keep an eye on as the Sixers move forward. [lawrence-related id=36831,36828,36822]