Mazzulla Details Preseason Plan for Horford, Addresses Regular Season Possibility

Bobby Krivitsky | Oct 10, 2024

May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) dunks the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the first half during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Al Horford was a spectator for the Celtics' two preseason tilts against the Nuggets in Abu Dhabi.

Addressing the reason why, Joe Mazzulla explained one could have surmised about holding the 38-year-old out of Boston's first exhibition games.

"Just ramping him up," voiced the Celtics' bench boss.

As for the plan moving forward, with the reigning NBA champions set to face the 76ers in a rivalry clash on Saturday at TD Garden before hosting the Raptors the next night before capping preseason play with a rematch north of the border:

"We're still talking about that," shared Mazzulla. "He'll definitely play in one of them, maybe two. Just ramping him up and making sure he stays sharp."

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

With Kristaps Porzingis rehabbing from surgery this summer after suffering a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in Boston's 105-98 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and targeting a December return, Luke Kornet started in both games in Abu Dhabi.

As for the prospect of keeping Kornet in the first unit and bringing Horford off the bench at times during the regular season:

"Yeah, there's thought to doing whatever makes sense for the team. Obviously, he's been great for us both coming off the bench and starting. So, we just have to make a decision. Whatever we think is best for the team at the time," said Mazzulla. "It's a credit to him that he's open-minded enough to know that. He'll do whatever is best for the team."

Horford entered last season having started in all but 12 of the 1,1800 NBA regular season and playoff matchups he appeared in. Predictably, he handled his transition to becoming Boston's sixth man, stepping into the starting lineup when Porzingis was unavailable, with grace while shining in both roles.

Horford's professionalism in making that adjustment exemplified one of the themes of the Celtics' championship campaign: sacrifice. His approach earned praise throughout the organization, including by Jayson Tatum, who repeatedly cited the 17-year veteran as his "favorite teammate."

"I have the utmost respect for Al," said Tatum last preseason as Horford acclimated to an unfamiliar role. "And if Al can come off the bench at this stage in his career, nobody should have anything to say if you are the guy that has to come off the bench or if Joe takes you out of the game, or if you don't finish, everybody has to have that team first mindset to accomplish what we're trying to do."

While the Celtics must diligently manage Horford's workload, not having to worry about how he'll handle when asked to come off the bench demonstrates the culture Boston has built on its journey back to the NBA mountaintop. It's essential to the franchise's hopes of staying there moving forward.