Avery Bradley is stoked about the Boston Celtics’ acquisition of Al Horford. So stoked, in fact, that he believes the team has a chance to finish the 2016-17 season as the NBA’s best, or second-best, defensive faction.
From Brian Robb of CBS Boston:
“I think he’ll help us out a lot,” Bradley explained. “Having a guy behind me—not to say the guys in the past weren’t good, because they were pretty dang good, especially Jared [Sullinger]. He really helped a lot as far as talking.
“But Al, having that leadership and having that experience, he’s been to the playoffs multiple years in a row. So he knows what it takes to be a great defender, and I know he talks well. I can tell for how disciplined their team is. I’m just happy to have him behind me, talking and helping me defend some of the best players in the NBA.”
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“I feel like the sky’s the limit for us,” he said. “I’m hoping that we can be one or two in the NBA on the defensive end. If we all lock in and that’s our mindset going into every single game, I feel like it will not only help us win games but all our goals will come true being a top defense in the NBA.”
The Celtics finished tied for fourth place in defensive efficiency last season, allowing as many points per 100 possessions as the Golden State Warriors, according to NBA.com. Jumping into the top two isn’t out of the question, especially with each of the top three teams—the San Antonio Spurts, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers—each undergoing major facelifts over the offseason.
Horford, to that end, is a criminally underrated defender. He can protect the paint, jump passing lanes, ice pick-and-rolls, function at a high level when switching onto to smaller ball-handling and eschews offensive rebounding dominance for the sake of getting back in transition. Though the Celtics made it work defensively using guys like Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Tyler Zeller and Jonas Jerebko as their primary lines of interior defense, Horford represents a stark upgrade.
The issue for Boston that will most shape its defensive identity, though, is the absence of Evan Turner, who signed on with the Portland Trail Blazers. Often a punchline, Turner was one of the Celtics’ most valuable defenders. He suffocated everyone from point guards to power forwards, and the team’s perimeter defense could be substantially worse without him if Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown aren’t able to replace his versatility.
Still, even without Turner, the Celtics look like they’ll have little trouble remaining in the top five of defensive efficiency. And given the boon Horford provides on the offensive end, that’s easy to paint as a win.
