Al Horford Is A Gift From God And The Celtics Are Headed Back To The Eastern Conference Finals

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Listen, we as a species need to just accept the fact that the Boston Celtics will never take the easy road. Ever. In Game 4 with no Donovan Mitchell, what should have been a stress free night was certainly anything but. In Game 5 with basically every Cav out who had a pulse, most expected that THIS would be the cakewalk game.

Which of course meant that the Celts would make us sweat. They would test our faith by again playing around with the basketball and giving the Cavs life. Early it was turnovers and a disastrous defense which sucked all the life out of the Garden. You could feel the nerves brewing in what could have been a complete disaster.

But thankfully, Al Horford exists. Holy fuck what a performance from Al. A guy who couldn’t buy a bucket just threw up 22/15/5 with 5 3PM in a close out game! At 37!! The HGH clearly worked and boy am I glad it did.

At the end of the day, it’s about surviving and advancing. Win by 1 or win by 30, who gives a fuck. Win pretty or win ugly, who gives a fuck. Just win. Nobody is throwing a parade for beating a depleted Cavs team, but that’s not my problem. You play who you play and you find ways to win.

On a night where the stars had to show up, that’s also what we got from Jayson Tatum. A not too shabby 25/10/9 on 9-16 for a guy who apparently stinks. I do wish everyone would remember he’s on the team and continue to actually pass him the ball, but when the Celts needed Tatum he delivered.

While it’s not the final goal, take a minute and appreciate 6 ECFs in the last 8 years. That shit is NOT normal. We all wanted to see this team close it out at home and earn their rest, and they did. As a result, an NBA title is just 8 wins away. 

We’ll dive into everything in detail in the morning, but for now, exhale.

 The Celts are into the Final 4, and that’s all that matters