BAH GAWD THAT'S AL HORFORD MUSIC!!
Boston Globe. Getty Images.Huge news. HUGE NEWS. This morning we learned that Derrick White was on his way back to Boston because 9 months ago he had a little sex while a member of the San Antonio Spurs. There are some that are doing the usual bullshit when it comes to that, but I say congrats on the sex and wish him nothing but the best.
Then we got the update that Al was suddenly QUESTIONABLE. Remember, yesterday he was listed as DOUBTFUL. Now, he's active and ready to roll. As I said when the Game 1 news broke, I have no fucking idea what the covid rules are anymore. Nobody does. None of it makes any goddamn sense and truth be told I didn't even know we were still testing for covid at this point. Seeing as how Game 1 went, that was a pretty substantial absence so it's nice to know that with White out, at least Horford and Smart (fingers crossed) will be back. Here's a quick little reminder of what the original Celtics starting 5 looks like when they play together
Pretty good!
There are just so many ways that this news could impact how things go tonight.
1. Additional support on limiting Bam and preventing OREB
2. Prevents having to over rely on Rob who was great, but is working his way back
3. Allows Grant and Theis to go back to their normal roles
4. Gives the Celts another trustworthy offense initiator which they will need with no White available
5. Playoff Al fucking rules
6. Should the Heat go zone, you can put Al on the nail and bust that shit
7. If the Celtics go small and play 1 big vs Bam, Horford's 3pt shooting will draw him from the rim and open things up for the Jays. Rob/Theis couldn't do that obviously.
the list goes on and on. On the surface, there's no way you could argue that this isn't a massive boost for a team that really could use a Game 2 win.
The flip side of this is now there's really no excuse. Sure not having White will matter in some areas, but if Smart and Horford are both back there is more than enough talent available to win this game. Plain and simple. The pressure was already high heading into Game 2, but now it went up a level because now you have your guys. It's time to show up and execute for a full 48 minutes.
I will say though, I feel like Adam Silver now owes all of us a game. I'm not totally sure how you can go from OUT on Tuesday to ACTIVE on Thursday, but I do know that Al would have made a difference in Game 1. I expect that to be rectified at some point during this series so keep that in mind. The Heat caught a covid prayer and took advantage. Credit to them. Now it's time for the Celts to punch back and take homecourt and momentum of this series back to Boston. Having Al back sure does help that cause.
I'm just happy our prayers worked. You did that. This is what you have to do when you're trying to make the NBA Finals. It's all hands on deck. Whatever energy we can put into the universe to help give us the result we want, you do it. This time it got us Al back. Let's hope a Game 2 win follows.