Let the 39-year-old veteran play for 37 minutes? How competitive can the Celtics have?

In the previous NBA playoff Eastern Conference semi-finals G4, the New York Knicks, who played at home, once again completed a reversal in the second half. They defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics 121-113, and opened the total score of the series to 3-1, successfully winning the match point; while the Celtics are already on the verge of being eliminated, coupled with the suspected serious injury of the team's core Jayson Tatum, they may face huge trouble.

In this game, the Celtics' starting center Al Horford's performance was still at a terrible level. Horford played 37 minutes and 30 seconds in the game, made 1 of 2 shots, 1 of 2 from outside the three-point line, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He also had 4 fouls, with a plus-minus value of -8. Horford has no offensive effect, no scoring ability, and no way to provide basic support and help to the team. Horford's performance on the defensive end is also extremely disappointing, and his defensive ability is no longer as good as before. He is indeed unable to provide more support and help to the team on the defensive end. Horford's presence on the court is really bad, and other Celtics inside players are unable to provide enough support for the team. In this case, Horford also had to appear on the court for a long time, which further led to the team's passiveness in the situation.

In the NBA regular season this season, Horford made a total of 60 appearances in the first 82 games, averaging 27.7 minutes per game, averaging 9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers and 1.4 fouls. He shot 42.3%, three-point shooting percentage 36.3%, and free throw shooting percentage 89.5%. In the playoffs, Horford averaged 33 minutes in the first nine games, with averaging 7.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks, and 0.6 turnovers and 2.6 fouls. He shot 43.1% from the field, 35.7% from three-point shooting percentage and 85.7% from free throws.

Horford's performance during the playoffs was indeed a bit bad. His scoring ability has deteriorated significantly. It is difficult for him to show his abilities and characteristics in most games. He also seems to move slowly and lacks athletic ability on the defensive end. His weaknesses will be focused by his opponents. The problem is that Kristaps Porzingis, the former inside pillar of the Celtics, was even worse than Horzford's performance on the court in many cases, which seemed a bit helpless. When you expect a veteran who is almost 39 years old to support the team's inside line, basically the team's competitiveness will not be too high.