Memphis-al Horford seemed nothing to a 38-year-old on Monday night, as he helped lead the Celtics to his ninth consecutive victory on the road against Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. After leaving the start of the five to let Xavier Tillman start against his former team, Horford broke out 26 points in the season in a Boston 117-103 victory. The big man eliminated the six three -point field goals in the victory during his 37 minutes, while Boston drove with large doubles for almost the entire victory.
“I am always trying to play the right game, and the right game tonight was for me to shoot it,” said Horford. “But it was fantastic. I didn’t know what to wait for them, but it was ready for it.”
The performance for Horford was part of the course for a team of Celtics who has won 14 of its last 15 games in the direction of the section of section. The great man has been at his best against Playoff’s opponents this year and Monday night was no different, with several other regular ones with a hard shot night beyond the bow. With the Grizzlies who made the painting, Horford was able to deliver and also added nine rebounds to the victory.
“I thought that once we settled in, we were able to make the readings we could do,” said Joe Mazzulla after the Celtics met with an 11 -point deficit. “Regardless of what he does, it is important to us when he is on the ground and I thought he took it to another level tonight.”
With the importance of Horford that seems as crucial as never as a single one or with Kristaps Porzingis or Luke Kornet, the Celtics front will have a potentially fascinating situation to handle when it comes to its future. The great man will become a free agent this summer, as he is 39 years old and is currently surpassing his $ 9.5 million agreement last year of his contract.
Boston already has more than $ 220 million on payroll for next year and will have to pay a record amount of luxury tax penalties that will put the total invoice of payroll greater than $ 500 million. All this comes without finding out what the following agreement will be for Horford.
The big man has achieved about $ 290 million in his career, so he is sure to say he will not want to break the bank in his next agreement. However, it has never been one of the discounts and has certainly played well enough this season to command mid -level exceptional money in the open market. Boston certainly could not afford this, given the tax penalties involved without erasing a significant salary in other areas on the list.
Life would be much easier if Horford makes a minimum of veterans, but it is difficult to justify it with its numbers through the table this year, along with great performances like We We see on Monday night. It is clear that Horford also has a lot of pride in his play.
“I think, for me, there are many things you see here,” said Horford. “There is preparation and preparing -the best possible to act and take care of my body. For me, it always stands ready and tries to play in the right way. I do a lot of work, so that although I am older, I feel that I can do things when I am called and contribute and affect winning -me. Everything goes with my preparation and my job.”
For now, the Celtics are getting the benefits of Horford defying the father’s time. If you can afford to keep it next to the rest of this nucleus beyond this season it is an open matter.
- Bets: Check out our MA Sports bets GuideWhere you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read the odds for those interested in learning to bet on Massachusetts.