Jayson Tatum believes Al Horford is Important for Celtics’ Success

The Boston Celtics find themselves even with the Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2. In order to get past the Sixers and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and potentially the NBA Finals, Celtics Star Jayson Tatum believes Al Horford will be important down the stretch.

Horford was a great shooter for the Celtics this season as he knocked down 44.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, the highest of anybody on the team. It was the best mark of his 16-year career.

At 36 years old, Horford has seen his overall numbers and shooting drop a little bit in the postseason. Nonetheless, he has still been very important to the success of his team. Following a hilarious exchange with a reporter when talking about Horford’s status as an elite shooter, Jayson Tatum spoke about Horford’s capabilities as a shooter and how important he is to the Celtics as per Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Jayson Tatum on Al Horford: "Whoever laughed at him earlier, shame on you. Al is definitely an elite shooter and he's been that and proven that. He is so important to what we are trying to accomplish as a team."

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 6, 2023

Though, his numbers have dipped a bit from what we’ve seen Horford do in previous seasons. He finished Game 3 with 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists and he shot 6-8 from the field including 5-7 from three-point range. When he’s spacing the floor like that and consistently knocking down shots from outside, the Celtics are that much more difficult to defend.

Though, Jayson Tatum believes Al Horford will be a key for the Celtics’ postseason success, he’s not the only one. Head Coach Joe Mazzulla made sure to call out the 36-year-old for his performance in his postgame speech on May 5.

that’s how you get it done 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/x68bvNC9XK

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 6, 2023

Horford followed that performance up with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Celtics took a one-point loss in overtime.

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