Shortly after Friday’s practice session, Cleveland Cavaliers teammates LeBron James and Kyle Korver were asked to comment on their upcoming Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics. Both Korver and James had good things to say about the Celtics. However, much of the discussion was centered around Al Horford.
“He’s the rock,” James told Cavs Nation after Friday’s practice. “He’s even-keeled… he never gets rattled in the game. He’s Boston’s safety net.”
As most hoops fans know, Korver and Horford were once teammates with the Atlanta Hawks. During his interview, Korver noted that Horford is simply an overall good guy who works hard.
“He’s the ultimate teammate,” Korver continued. “He comes to work every day. (He) doesn’t say a lot, but when he says something, it means something. (He’s) always very respectful to the entire team. Without saying a lot, everyone on the team would look to him as a leader.”
Horford, now 31 years of age, has played well for the Celtics thus far, especially in the playoffs. In his 12 postseason appearances with the Celtics, the former No. 3 overall pick (2007) has racked up averages of 17.0 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the field (36.0 percent from beyond the arc), 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals in 35.8 minutes per.
There is one interesting stat that is worth noting, since we’re talking about a LeBron-Horford matchup. In the 16 postseason meetings between the two players, James holds a 15-1 record over Horford.
Game 1 is slated to tip inside TD Garden at 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday with ABC having live broadcast coverage.
