Former Boston Celtic big man Al Horford has seen this series before, but never from the Philadelphia 76ers’ side.
With the Eastern Conference playoff seeding finally in focus with the matches locked in place, the Celtics will face the 76ers for their third consecutive postseason — and their first with the University of Florida product wearing blue and white.
“Coming into the bubble, we knew it was a possibility,” said Horford postgame Wednesday.
“For us, it’s a great opportunity…it’s part of the business. Obviously, we’ve already played them plenty of times this year so that effect is out of the way so now we can go out there and compete and it should be a fun series.”
#76ers forward Al Horford talks about facing his former team, the #Celtics, in the playoffs. #NBABubble pic.twitter.com/YaMn6Qqky4
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) August 13, 2020
The matchup has an interesting wrinkle for Horford, who is now thrust back into a starting role with the injury of teammate Ben Simmons, who, along with center Joel Embiid made something of a failed experiment sharing the court as starters.
And while the loss of Simmons is undoubtedly a big one, it will have the effect of boosting their half-court game, which postseason basketball tends to emphasize more anyhow.
Add in the extra floor time for Horford — who is very familiar with the team he’ll be facing — and the advantage may not be as big as some assume.
With Indy win, East playoffs set with Celts facing 76ers in 1st round https://t.co/tKkOJWArRv
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 13, 2020
The Celtics should still be favorites given their health and current level of play, but it may not be the cake walk some assume, especially given how much the 76ers have bothered Boston during the regular season.
One thing we can depend on from Horford is his honesty about his ties to his former home, who he still holds in high regard when he’s not trying to obliterate them on the court.
His coach Brett Brown tends to agree, particularly when discussing the man in his role on the opposite sidelines.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for [Boston head coach] Brad [Stevens],” said Brown.
“It’s true because of tons of experiences regular season and playoffs over the past few years. I think the team is very unique in that there was just so much firepower at several positions. The Philly-Celtics rival rivalry is storied. It’s historic and so to be able to have this opportunity again we’re excited, treat this series with tremendous respect, but it’s certainly one that we’re excited to compete against them.”
Even marred by injury, it should be a competitive series, and with the rekindled rivalry between the two East juggernauts, an excellent storyline to monitor for non-fans as well as the true fanatics.
The series dates are still to be determined, but should be announced within the next few days to start on or near August 17th, the official start date of the 2020 Disney ‘bubble’ postseason.
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