The Boston Celtics are a .500 team again after getting some revenge against the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday evening, winning 98 – 92 on the road with some critical late play from a familiar tandem of players.
Those two players, veteran big man Al Horford and reserve point guard Dennis Schroder, have a chemistry between them that predates their time as Celtics, with the duo having previously played together as members of the Atlanta Hawks. That chemistry was on full display as Boston sought to close out a pesky Cavs in their second meeting of the season, and composes part of what Horford thinks the Celtics can use to get some separation from other teams.
“I think it’s good to have as a team, we need to have different options,” related the Dominican big man as he spoke to the press after the win.
You can be predictable in one thing,” he continued.
“I feel like with this group, we have that ability, whether it’s Marcus (Smart) playing in the pick and roll, whether it’s Dennis (Schroder), or Jayson, or Jaylen, like, I feel like we have … many different guys that we can get in an action and we can do different things.”
“So the difference, the more we do that, the more unpredictable we are,” finished Horford.
That both of the team’s veteran voices have made this aspect of the team’s offense a point of emphasis bears monitoring, given Smart’s controversial (but largely correct) points earlier this season on how teams tend to key in to Brown and Tatum in particular.
We’ve seen strides from the latter in getting rid of the ball and even making plays, but a more diverse offensive ecosystem will help the team in a lot of ways, with the increased engagement it creates a boon even on the defensive end of the court.