Veteran Boston Celtics big man Al Horford was asked at shootaround before Game 3 about his shooting slump. Horford shot 2-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first two games of the series. “Not much difference really,” Horford said via CLNS Media before a reporter started laughing at what he said next.
“I’m still getting good looks. I’ll continue to shoot them. Even throughout the season, I went through ups and downs, that’s just a part of it when you’re an elite shooter.” The comment drew a chuckle from a reporter, which evidently helped fuel Horford’s 5-for-7, 17-point outing in Game 3 of the ball club’s Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The data supported Horford’s claim of being an elite shooter with his 44.6% efficiency rate from beyond the arc in the 2022-23 regular season — good enough for the second-best rate in the entire league — but going 71.4% from 3 was quite the flex on the unnamed reporter who chuckled at the Florida alum’s words.
Hopefully, we see more of this version of Horford, as the Dominican big man was a key part of the Celtics’ win on both ends in Game 3.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire