It took a little convincing, but 36-year-old Celtics big man Al Horford eventually realized he would need to add three-point shooting to his arsenal for a lengthier NBA career, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Haynes writes that former Hawks general manager Rick Sund first suggested the move. Atlanta drafted Horford with the third pick out of Florida in 2007.
As Haynes writes, Horford took just 65 three-point attempts through his first eight NBA seasons. During his 2015/16 season with the Hawks, Horford averaged 3.1 looks per night, converting 34.4% of those. He has never taken fewer than 3.0 three-point attempts in a season since then. His highest conversion rate was 42.9% on 3.1 tries during the 2017/18 season with Boston.
“Rick is the one that told me, ‘Man, you have a really good mid-range. You should start shooting corner threes, that’s going to help extend your career,’” Horford said. “I used to be a banger down low and posting up. He was like, ‘Man, you’re not going to last in this league if you keep playing like that.’ … Rick was right. I think I have gained extra years by adding the 3-point shot.”
There’s more out of Boston:
- Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is employing a championship strategy employed by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, for whom he was an assistant coach during consecutive NBA Finals trips, writes Tim Keown of ESPN. Keown notes that Udoka’s calm, tough comportment could stem from lessons learned in San Antonio, where he was also a player. “He coached with the greatest ever to do it in Pop,” Marcus Smart said. “He’s a sponge. Every place he went, he soaked it all in, put it into his game and brought it over here to us.” Prior to his current head coaching stint with the Celtics, Udoka also served under Brett Brown with the Sixers and Steve Nash with the Nets.
- After starting his career with a 10-day contract on a Lakers team led by Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, Ime Udoka eventually carved out an NBA niche as a role player. Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times opines that Udoka’s time spent as a career role player helped prepare him for the nuances of coaching. After his four-game tenure with the 2003/04 Lakers, Udoka suited up for the Knicks, Trail Blazers, Spurs and Kings during a seven-year NBA career.
- One reason behind the Celtics’ 2022 postseason success has been their ability to win on the road, writes Sherrod Blakely of Full Court Press. Boston won two away games in each of its three Eastern Conference playoff series, and already has earned a victory at the Chase Center in the NBA Finals. A second straight road victory is certainly on the minds of Boston players. “We’ve got to have that right mindset that this is a big game for us, and we’ve got to go out there and compete and not try to hang our hat on Game 1 but to be a little greedy and go get Game 2,” reserve point guard Derrick White said of the team’s mentality.
Haha, Horford was never a “banger” he is delusional
A bit different this time around. If Golden State takes tonight’s game, it’s imperative that Boston wins games 3 and 4 at home. They can’t go into a best-of-three with two road games.