Al Horford Had a Rough Homecoming in Boston on Saturday

Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford played in Boston for the first time since leaving on Saturday. And let's just say it didn't go so well.
Al Horford Had a Rough Homecoming in Boston on Saturday
Al Horford Had a Rough Homecoming in Boston on Saturday /

For the last three seasons, Philadelphia 76ers' forward/center Al Horford has been a member of the Boston Celtics. It seemed as if the experienced veteran was going to close out his career donning the green and white, but Boston failed to give the All-Star big the contract he was looking for.

Philly, however, was willing to cough up the big bucks for Horford. And the cost to make Al Horford a 76er was upwards of $100 million over the next four seasons. Boston couldn't beat that, and apparently seeing Horford join the Sixers was on a shortlist of nightmares for the Celtics' front office.

The Horford experiment in Philly hasn't exactly gone as planned, but in previous head to head matchups with the Celtics, all was well. Heading into Saturday night's game, Philly had defeated the Celtics three out of three times this season. Al Horford was only a part of two of those matchups, though. Both happened to be in Philly.

Horford was set to return to Boston for the first time since leaving back in December, but the big man had a sudden injury, which kept him out. There was a possibility that Horford was going to miss the second and final game at TD Garden on Saturday, but the Sixers made him available.

Finally, Horford was going to play as an opponent of the Celtics in Boston for the first time since he was a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Considering Horford and the Sixers had no problem taking care of the Celtics in the past, it seemed as if history was going to repeat itself once again on Saturday. Spoiler: it did not.

Al Horford's official homecoming in Boston was far from an ideal scenario for the veteran. For starters, as a team, the Sixers were dominated. They might've won the four-game series versus Boston overall, but the Celtics' 116-95 win puts Philly in an even deeper hole as they remain glued to the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference.

As for Al Horford, it surely wasn't his night. In just under 30 minutes of playing time on the court, Horford struggled on both sides of the ball. He managed to only drain four of his eleven field goal attempts and went 1-for-6 from long-range. At a point, there were Celtics fans present who kept yelling for Horford to continue taking shots as nothing seemed to be falling for the veteran.

And the fans weren't the only ones getting jabs in on the veteran. Horford's former teammate, Marcus Smart, decided to toy with the big man late in the game after draining a difficult, but beautiful shot from mid-range. You might've seen Smart's gesture right in front of Horford, but later on, the Celtics' guard explained why it happened

After the matchup, Smart revealed that his on-court antics towards Horford was actually revenge for something Horford did earlier in the game. "I didn't see it or know, but everyone was telling me [Horford] gave me the little baby pose," Smart said after the game. "I asked him when he was on the bench, 'Did you call me little?' He started laughing."

Well, Smart got the last laugh in on Saturday night. After checking in with a 16-point effort in a dominant win over the Sixers, Boston can move on knowing they avoided a sweep against Philly, and remain in front of them in the East. Meanwhile, Horford and the Sixers still have a lot of work to do, figuring out how they can avoid losing their next two matchups against superior opponents on the road.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA