Al Horford to continue coming off the bench
Al Horford told members of the media on Wednesday that he will continue to come off the bench after the All-Star break.
Horford tells reporters he has been told/believes he will continue to come off the bench moving forward
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 19, 2020
I’m going to write that again, just because it felt so sweet.
Al Horford told members of the media on Wednesday that he will continue to come off the bench after the All-Star break.
This move has been a long time coming. Horford has essentially been an itch Sixers fans have been desperate to scratch and this move to the bench is the team’s way of grabbing a back scratcher.
Poor fit and roster chemistry have been the story of the season for the Sixers and Horford is at the heart of the problem. His presence in the lineup has created spacing issues, primarily for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Horford, Simmons, and Embiid have a -0.8 netrtg when they’re on the floor together, which is the fourth-worst among Sixers three-man lineups with at least 200 minutes logged.
The Sixers teased this move in their 110-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers before the All-Star break. Despite coming off the bench, Horford still played a healthy 28-minutes, so he should continue to have a prominent role with the team.
Brett Brown mentioned that we can expect more of what we saw against the Clippers moving forward. Furkan Korkmaz drew the start in Horford’s place, with Glenn Robinson III and Matisse Thybulle also seeing expended roles in the rotation. It’s unclear as to who will permanently occupy Horford’s spot in the lineup, but between Korkmaz, Robinson, Thybulle, and also Alec Burks, the Sixers have options.
Brown said he will be spending the next seven to ten games trying to hammer out the Sixers rotation. He hopes to have things figured out in time for the closing weeks of the season. He also mentioned that the lineup will be somewhat matchup specific moving forward. If the Sixers face a team with two quality bigs, Horford will likely see more minutes.
With just 27 games remaining in the regular season, the Sixers find themselves in a similar position as last year; forced to figure out their offensive identity with time running out in the season. Here’s hoping it goes a better than last time.
