Getty Grant Williams, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics backup center situation continues to be a tricky one. After trading Daniel Theis to the Indiana Pacers to acquire Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford’s and Robert Williams III’s current backups are Grant Williams and Luke Kornet. The Celtics have options like using one of their trade exceptions to acquire another big or sign one of the remaining free agent centers left on the market. However, one option was recently brought up that wouldn’t require bringing anyone else to the team – having Al Horford come off the bench.
Andrew Doxy of CelticsBlog proposed that having Horford be Williams’ primary backup could solve their depth issues while also not messing with the team’s consistency.
“Al Horford is 36 years old and is heading into a year where he’ll likely avoid playing in one leg of back-to-backs. So much inconsistency in the lineup could affect the team, so maybe it would be less disruptive to just have him routinely come off the bench.”
Doxy added that going this route could also help the Celtics ensure that they will get the same performance they got from Horford last season.
“The best reason to change what was the best defensive starting lineup in the league is for roster balance and Horford’s longevity. There was a time when Horford looked cooked in Philly. As we’ve seen in his stops in Oklahoma City and Boston last season, the extra rest was certainly beneficial as Horford went from early 2021 into playing late into June the following year.
“With even less rest between last offseason and this, the Celtics should be finding any way possible to try to recapture the magic of older man Horford, and that includes load management as well as potential lineup shifts.”
Regarding who could replace Horford in the starting lineup, Doxy listed three options.
Horford’s Possible Replacements in the Starting Lineup
The three options that Doxy listed as Horford’s replacement were Grant Williams, Danilo Gallinari, and Malcolm Brogdon.
Doxy believes that Williams’ skillset makes him, as he puts it, “the obvious choice.”
“He conceptually fits as a player who can space the floor, switch onto wings effectively (and guards competently enough), and has the chemistry with this group,” Doxy said. “Williams starting would also balance the rotation better, with Gallinari cleanly subbing in for the rest of the minutes at the four while Horford would spell Robert Williams exclusively at the five.”
Compared to Williams and Brogdon, Doxy sees Gallinari as the “least likely candidate of the three, but still worth considering,” because of his offensive skillset.
“Danilo Gallinari is who you go to if you’re looking for more offensive punch,” Doxy said. “Gallinari isn’t a strong defensive player, but one average defender won’t collapse the entire defensive scheme (see: almost the entirety of Brad Stevens’ coaching run). Gallinari spaces the floor almost as well as Williams while allowing for more creative offensive sets.”
Finally, Doxy lists Brogdon because he believes Brogdon has the highest upside of the three.
“Brogdon is a borderline All-Star, and just by virtue of being the best player out of the three options, he’ll warrant a lot of consideration,” Doxy said. “Conceptually, he fits next to Marcus Smart and adds another degree of playmaking.”
If the Celtics roll with Horford as their starting power forward going forward, then it ultimately doesn’t matter. Keep in mind that Doxy’s proposal is based on the Celtics’ reported plans with Horford for the 2022-23 season.
Horford to be Rested, Load Managed
On July 7, 2022, Jared Weiss of The Athletic reported that Horford would not play as many minutes for the upcoming NBA season.
“Al Horford is expected to sit out most back-to-backs and have his minutes limited even further next season, according to team sources,” Weiss said.
Weiss then reported on August 15 that the Celtics plan to load manage both him and Brogdon on back-to-backs.
“There are several players projected to get significant rest throughout the regular season, particularly with Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon expected to load manage on plenty of back-to-backs,” Weiss said. Going this route indicates the Celtics primarily want Horford to be at his best for when the playoffs come around.
As Doxy brought up, based on his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers, there was a time when many thought Horford was passed his prime. He proved last season that he was still capable of playing high-end basketball, but he will enter the 2022-23 season being 36 years old.
There’s no telling if Horford will have an encore performance that he did last season, but having him play with the second unit could hit two birds with one stone – ensuring he keeps up his quality play from last season while solving the Celtics’ depth issues in the frontcourt.