The grass may not always be greener in other pastures, though for former Boston Celtic Al Horford, there’s still time to right the ship with his new team.
That outfit, the Philadelphia 76ers, has not exactly been the Eastern Conference wrecking ball many anticipated, and Horford is unhappy with his role so far with them, at least on the offensive end of the ball.
The franchise he decamped to over summer in search of one last big payday and a better shot (at the time) at a banner has had structural issues limiting what the Florida product can do offensively with no pick-and-roll partner.
Philadelphia has a lack of a true closer, making it hard to win close games despite their (until recently) excellent defense, and a lack of shooting that makes for poor spacing and clogged lanes.
Though little of the team’s woes have much to do with Horford, he still takes it personal. Teams are finding it easy to defend the non-shooting Sixers, and the frustration is starting to erode Philadelphia’s defensive buy-in as well.
Al Horford has yet to find his 'rhythm' with the #Sixers, and he knows it https://t.co/i6s9ldk9BE
— Michael K-B (@therealmikekb) December 31, 2019
In a recent loss to the Indiana Pacers, Horford related (via Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin), “We let [Indiana] do whatever they wanted on the floor.”
“A lot of it falls on me setting a tone on the defensive end, and I definitely take some of that blame,” he added.
While the ex-Gator is right to note defense being the problem in recent contests, the 76ers have lost three in a row and six of their last 10 due to the lack of offensive options available to them, frustrating the 12-year veteran.
“I’m out [there] for the team and doing what I can to help us,” Horford related in a recent interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “But offensively, I’m very limited with the things that I can do. So I can’t control that stuff.”
Having signed a hefty four-year contract with the 76ers, his utility is again misunderstood by Philly fans of the same ilk that derided his non-eye-popping counting stats in Boston made worse by his current situation.
Al Horford criticizes Sixers after loss: 'Our effort was not good enough' https://t.co/wyfurBH027
— Sixers Wire (@SixersWire) January 1, 2020
While the Celtics may have made the right move in not offering a similar contract to the Puerto Plata native out of age concerns, Horford’s play hasn’t shown much sign of age-related decline, nor is what has been seen having anything to do with the 76ers’ slippage.
There’s still time for a deal to be made by Philadelphia to revamp its roster, slumping on both sides of the court out of frustration size and length is (perhaps unsurprisingly) not enough in the modern NBA.
The former Celtic will have to make the most of his situation in the meantime, which could well change soon. In a season where the title race looks as open as it has in years, a Sixers trade is almost certainly coming.
Until it does, Horford’s frustration is a reminder that nothing is certain in the NBA — a lesson Celtics fans know far too well themselves after the 2018-29 season.