Al Horford: Team player

Al Horford has been a winner all his life, and now he’s hoping to continue that with the Boston Celtics this season.

After winning back-to-back NCAA titles with the Florida Gators in ‘06-’07, he was drafted 3rd over-all by Atlanta, where he spent nine seasons, before landing in Boston in 2016.

The Dominican Republic star is upbeat about their title hopes after their roster got re-tooled in the off season. They brought in Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, who immediately became favorites.

The injury to Hayward tempered expectations, but the rise of their young core, coupled with the stability Horford brings, has renewed the lofty expectations from their fans.

The STAR had the opportunity to chat with Horford during an international media call.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Your team is performing up to expectations, would you say you’re on track towards your goal of the NBA Finals?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, I feel like we’ve been playing really good basketball. I feel like we have a really young group, that our guys just keep getting better as the season goes along. As a group, we’re going to keep getting better, and I do feel like we have what it takes to contend for a championship.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are immediately contributing to your team.

I’ve been very encouraged by how quickly some of our younger guys have been able to come along and help us as a team. Part of our success is because they’ve been able to do what coach Brad Stevens is asking of them. They’ve been put in tough positions, and they’ve been able to handle it really well. I feel like they’re going to continue to get better, and I’ll be very eager to see how we’re looking at the end of the year because I feel like they’ll be much more comfortable and we’ll be better as a group.

It seems like you enjoy playing with Aron Baynes?

Yeah, playing with Aron has been a lot of fun, not only on the court, but off the court. He’s a great teammate. He’s the kind of guy that you want to have on your side because he’s going to play the right way. He’s going to compete. And he really takes a lot of pressure off of me on the defensive end. I’m able to get out and run a little more and do different things.

I think that one of the strengths of our team is the ability of always being able to change. Coach has challenged us a lot, changing lineups, because of injuries. But I’ve felt like our team has handled that really well. Guys are not making excuses. We’re stepping up to the challenge, and we’re trying to make the most of what we have.

How has Kyrie Irving helped your game?

Kyrie is a great competitor. He’s a guy that has proved that he can play at a really high level, and I think that he’s made our team better. He has, in his own way, challenged me to be better, especially to be more aggressive on the offensive end, and just striving to be a better player. So it’s been a lot of fun being able to play alongside him.

What are you and your team trying to focus on at the moment?

I think the focus always has to be on the night tonight, but I do sit back and look at the big picture. We’ve had a lot of adversity as a group, a lot of guys that have never played in the NBA that have come in and had an impact. I look at all that and I do appreciate the progress and how well we’ve played. But then also at the same time, I always bring myself back down, and it’s important for us to focus on the game to game and the process and just continue to get better. And I think that’s the key for our group.

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