Possibly it’s the lack of a cool nickname. Like, maybe if he were known as the Dominican Destroyer, the general basketball public would take more notice.
But even Al Horford’s exquisite simplicity is getting too loud to ignore.
Over the last three games, You Can Call Me Al has gone for 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists, 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five boards and 11 assists, and then Monday night’s monument to efficiency.
In the Celtics’ 111-100 victory over Milwaukee, Horford had 20 points on just 10 shots from the floor (eight makes) with 3 of 4 free throws, nine rebounds and eight assists.
As masterpieces go, this is what’s known as coloring within the lines real good.
The 18.3 points and 71.9 percent shooting and, oh yeah, 5 of 9 on 3-pointers are a bit out of his norm, as are the 8.0 assists. But with Kyrie Irving and some young, willing disciples to play off, Horford is having one of his best seasons at age 31.
“I think Al’s game has progressed a lot as he’s gotten older,” said Jaylen Brown, a veteran of but 21 years on this planet. “He’s like fine wine, man. He just gets better with time.”
So when you talk to Coach Brad Stevens about the Horford of late, Stevens steers you back into the proper lane.
“All year,” said Stevens after his team improved to 21-4, “he’s been really good. I mean, when you look at his 20 points on 10 shots, eight assists and nine rebounds – pretty good night. And oh, by the way, you have to try to keep Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in front of you, which is really, really tough to do. I thought that we were clearly better offensively when he was in because of the way that they had to account for (Horford) on both rolls and pops. But he’s playing at a good level.”
It’s not like Horford was playing one-on-one with Antetokounmpo; others were tasked with getting in the Greek’s way. But while the highlight shows were littered with Giannis’ pyrotechnics, his 40 points came on 24 shots from the floor and 12 free throws, and a whole lot of the ball in his hands. In fact, the development of Antetokounmpo’s game can be seen, too, in his four assists.
But this is still a group affair and the Bucks were minus-11 with their best player on the court while the Celts were a plus-21 in Horford’s 35 minutes.
Horford’s two fourth-quarter alley-oop jams off Marcus Smart lobs were enough to set off some sparklers, but mostly his game is quick and economical. In power-grid terms, if Antetokounmpo is a nuclear reactor, Horford is renewable energy – a solar panel or a windmill.
And though his particular strengths may be different, there is more than a little Tim Duncan in him.
“I played with Timmy, and I just really appreciate what he and Al put out there each and every single night,” said Aron Baynes, formerly of the Spurs. “There’s definitely some similarities in terms of them being so consistent. That’s one of the big things. Consistency in this league is key.”
Presented with the comparison, Horford said, “I don’t really think about it but you probably make a point. My biggest thing has always been trying to play the right way and play to win, always playing solid, helping my teammates. And I think Tim Duncan played that way, too, except, you know, he could destroy people in the post. That was his strength and he’s one of the best low-post players ever.
“But I think in the other sense of the team concept and all that stuff, I think we have a lot of similarities.”
They are as much conduits as masters of the endgame. Their production is measured in terms of the whole, even though we’re talking about Horford’s stats here.
“I think he’s just shooting the right shots and being aggressive when we need him to be,” said Irving. “But (it’s) also just him getting more comfortable with where his shots are going to be coming from and being able to adjust on the fly – and, of course, (Stevens) throwing in some curveballs here and there, offensively and defensively to allow us to get out in transition and get each other easy shots.
“He can score. He can pass. He can push the break. He’s multi-faceted.”
And basically nickname-less.
Then again, when you’re being compared to a guy known as The Big Fundamental, hopes for a cool moniker seem rather slim.
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