The Celtics 39-year-old veteran really did his best, and he shouldn t have taken so much responsibility at all?

In the previous NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals G6, the New York Knicks, who returned to their home court, defeated the Boston Celtics 119-91. After this game, the Knicks locked the total score of the series at 4-2 and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. They will compete with the Indiana Pacers for a place in the finals; while the defending champion Celtics were somewhat unexpectedly eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Although the Celtics lost the game, the team's starting inside veteran Al Horford also tried his best. Horford played 26 minutes and 32 seconds in the whole game, made 4 of 7 shots and 2 of 4 from outside the three-point line, scored 10 points and 2 rebounds, and had 1 turnover and 2 fouls, with a plus-negative value of -33. Horford is indeed a little unable to keep up with the pace on the defensive end, and it is indeed difficult for him to provide enough support and help to the team on the defensive end, and his defensive effect is much worse than before. However, on the offensive end, Horford is one of the few players in the team who have a good feel, and he also got a lot of points with limited shots. Horford's performance is of course not particularly outstanding, but considering the performance of the entire Celtics team, such performance is acceptable, or at least it is much better than most players on the team.

In the NBA regular season this season, Horford made a total of 60 appearances in the first 82 games, averaging 27.7 minutes per game, averaging 9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers and 1.4 fouls. He shot 42.3%, three-point shooting percentage 36.3%, and free throw shooting percentage 89.5%. During the playoffs, Horford averaged 31.6 minutes in these 11 games, with averaging 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.3 blocks, and 0.6 turnovers and 2.7 fouls. His shooting percentage was 47.2%, his three-point shooting percentage was 40%, and his free throw shooting percentage was 85.7%. Of course, Horford's performance in the regular season and during the playoffs is not particularly outstanding. His scoring ability has dropped significantly, his defensive focus and his defensive movement speed have also significantly regressed, and his effect on the court is not ideal. The problem is that compared to other inside players on the team, Horford's performance is not bad anymore. After all, Horford is also a veteran who is about to turn 39 in less than a month. Considering his age, his condition is actually not too bad. In theory, Horford's playing time should be controlled around 20 minutes. As a result, the Celtics' inside pillar Kristaps Porzingis was in a daze throughout the playoffs, and his performance was a disaster. Under such circumstances, Horford's playing time had to be greatly improved, which was really a bit reluctant to do. He shouldn't have assumed so much responsibility.