The pain of choking a 3-2 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the recently-concluded Eastern Conference finals is not going to wear off anytime soon for the Boston Celtics. But for Celtics big man Al Horford, the 87-79 loss to the Cavs in Game 7 of the series last Sunday, he would rather look at the glass half full than half empty.

Speaking to reporters the morning after the gut-wrenching setback to Cleveland, Horford expressed his belief that the loss would serve Boston’s youngsters good moving forward in their careers.

Via Joshua Schrock of NESN:

“I think that this is going to help shape the rest of their careers. I truly believe that. I think they will … I hope they are able to take away the intensity and the commitment to defending and doing those little things in order for us to be able to be successful. We did it for most of the year and in the playoffs, we took it to another level. But there’s a lot more challenges for this group — that we can grow — and I’m looking forward to it.”

Despite the absences of veterans Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics were able to claw their way past the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks and get over the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round thanks in large part to the incredible showings from Boston's youngsters in the likes of Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier, and Jaylen Brown.

Horford, 31, can’t also say it has not impacted him either, though, not in a more favorable manner, as he was once again robbed of a chance by LeBron James and company to play in his first-ever NBA Finals series.