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On Friday night, the Boston Celtics will face off against the Brooklyn Nets in their first game in the new NBA In-Season Tournament.
Sadly, they will be without one of their biggest stars.
Tim Bontemps is reporting that Al Horford will sit out of Friday night’s game because of right knee injury management.
Friday’s game is the start of back-to-back games for the Celtics, who will then battle the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
The Celtics say Al Horford will sit out tonight’s game against Brooklyn with right knee injury management. Boston is playing its first back-to-back of the season, with Toronto playing here tomorrow night.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 10, 2023
The Celtics are surely disappointed to lose Horford, especially since they are hoping to make an impact in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
During his time with the Celtics, Horford has been a strong lynchpin of the team’s defensive plans.
So far this season, he has scored 5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during 24.1 minutes per game.
His defense and basketball IQ will definitely be missed as the team tries to take down the Nets.
Although it’s disappointing, Horford’s absence isn’t all that surprising.
At 37 years old, the veteran big man has slowed down a lot and isn’t able to remain as healthy as he used to.
He hasn’t played in more than 70 games in five years and hasn’t participated in a full season since 2016.
Without Horford, the team will be a bit smaller and will definitely look to Kristaps Porzingis a lot more.
Porzingis has been strong so far this season, with an average of 20.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Fans are hoping that Horford comes back soon, especially since Porzingis is also prone to injuries.
The Celtics will push ahead without Horford but if they lose both him and Porzingis, their front court would be in really bad shape.
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