Your Morning Dump… Where Horford is outshining young stars and drawing comparisons to legends

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Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Jayson Tatum, asked about Horford’s latest two-game stretch from Game 7 against Milwaukee to Monday’s night’s Game 1 win over Philadelphia, smiled and said, “Playoff Al. Real impressive.”

Horford has attacked everyone from Joel Embiid to Thon Maker off the dribble, and generally played a more assertive scoring role than he’s known for. No doubt this comes out of necessity, with Jaylen Brown missing the last game and a half with a hamstring strain. Horford is known for making the right play, as opposed to searching out his shot, so this is a significant shift in approach.

Brad Stevens believes it’s easy to overlook Horford’s role as a scorer and shooter.

“He works hard every day,” said the Celts coach. “He comes in and he’s put a lot of work in on his shooting. I’ve even seen it. I feel like he’s really locked in. He’s done a good job of knowing when to roll and post and play an interior spot and then knowing when to pop and space and those types of things.

Herald

Incredible to think that in the Celtics two biggest games of the season (Game 7 vs Milwaukee, Game 1 vs 76ers), Horford went for 52 points on 23-for-29 shooting.

And he did so against two of the games biggest young stars – Giannis and Joel Embiid.

Al’s numbers even compare to the inimitable Kevin Garnett:

Even the photoshops are fantastic:

Your Morning Dump... Where Horford is outshining young stars and drawing comparisons to legends

via @footfault96

On Page 2, Perk and Rondo are up to their old tricks.

 

Never change, boys. Never change!

The rest of the links

Herald: Family, faith pave Ojeleye’s path home to Celtics | Philly Inquirer: Fultz not dead and buried for series |  NBC Boston: Celtics, Sixers set tone for physical series

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