Al Horford, 36, born in 1986, shattered the dreams of Joel Embiid, 29.
The Boston Celtics (hereinafter referred to as Boston), to which Horford belongs, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers (hereinafter referred to as Philadelphia) by 112-88, 24 points in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals held at TD Garden in Boston, USA on the morning of the 15th (Korean time).
Boston, which has passed Philadelphia, will play the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat for the second year in a row. Jayson Tatum took the spotlight in the game, scoring 51 points, but Horford’s performance was brilliant.
Horford scored 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks while playing 33:54 in Game 7 against Philadelphia, +24 points on the court margin. He teamed up with Robert Williams III and succeeded in completely sealing Embiid. At the end of the match, Horford spoke to Embiid and expressed their mutual appreciation.
Horford’s performance throughout the series led to Boston’s victory. Boston won Game 3 as Horford blocked Embiid after returning from injury, but lost Games 4 and 5 as Horford struggled. However, Horford controlled Embiid and Harden’s two-man game as much as possible through two big wins against Robert Williams in Games 6 and 7.
Horford also left a good record in statistics, ranking first with Robert Williams in the team’s defensive rating (defense efficiency index) in the playoffs this season with 108 points.
Meanwhile, at 6ft 10in, 240lbs (208cm, 108kg), Horford played as a power forward in his prime, but slowly moved to center.메이저사이트
However, Horford tends to defend two-man games well through his excellent defensive BQ and quick steps, and is also good at post defense because he is strong. Here, he is the most suitable power forward for the current league trend, with his 3-point shooting ability, linker, and anchorman role. So it’s not easy to break through Horford unless you’re an out-of-the-box monster like LeBron James or Stephen Curry.
More than anything, Horford is a player who can balance Boston. Boston players follow him by calling him the Godfather (Godfather) or ‘Big Papa’. This comes as a huge boost to 34-year-old young rookie director Joe Mazzula.
Now, a rematch with Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals awaits Horford and Boston.