The Boston Celtics are preparing to meet the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Coming into the series, the Celtics are only a slight favorite because the Nets are not your typical No. 7 seed and will be a big challenge. The team from Massachusetts will need the help of their entire roster.
Without further ado, let's look at the Celtics' X-Factor in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs versus the Nets.
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Celtics' X-Factor vs. Nets
Common wisdom would say that the Celtics will rely on either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown to lead them in this series. This is completely correct, as the duo has been great, especially Tatum.
However, with Ben Simmons likely to feature in this series, Tatum's impact will be much more difficult to execute. On the other hand, Jaylen Brown will likely get a ton of defensive attention as well. With the recent injury to Robert Williams that will keep the young center out of this series, the real X-Factor of the series for the Celtics will be Al Horford.
The seasoned veteran is in his second Celtics stint. While the first one did not end in much playoff success, the second one has great potential, especially considering the form of the Celtics since the second half of the season began. Horford has been instrumental to this, as he is the most experienced player on the roster. It is not accidental that Williams has been playing out of his skin since Horford joined the roster and started mentoring him. Now that the apprentice is out of the tie, it is up to the master to step up to the plate. Horford is far removed from his most impactful days, but he can still do plenty of things on both sides of the court.
Firstly, on the defensive end of the court, Horford will have a double role. The veteran center will need to anchor the Celtics' defense and provide some of the important rim protection that was lost by the Williams injury. Time Lord led the Celtics with 2.2 blocks per game, but Horford was not too far behind with 1.3 per contest.
Due to his immense experience, Horford will need to use smart positioning to cut off some lanes for the Nets' drives. A lot of that will be on his team and their ability to make the Nets beat them with perimeter shooting, but as soon as a Nets player enters the Celtics paint, he becomes Horford's responsibility. Horford was never too athletic, so his defensive instincts and defensive positioning were always at top-notch levels.
On the other end of the court, Horford will also be instrumental in the way the Celtics set up offensively. Without a true point guard, the Celtics rely on a lot of ball movement and unselfishness in the offense to get their points. Of course, a ton of their offense comes from Tatum taking on the entire defense and making some hero buckets, but that will be tougher in this series, especially if Simmons returns.
Thus, as their most gifted passer, Horford will be incredibly important for the way the Celtics' offense operates. His assist numbers are not amazing, as he only averages 3.4 per game, but Horford can pass the ball really well, especially for his position. The runs of Brown, Tatum, and other cutting Celtics guards and wings will be rewarded by well-timed passes from their center.
Furthermore, Horford is a capable 3-point shooter who can spread the court. He is at 36.0% for his career and was at a respectable 33.6% in the regular season. That shooting ability helps open up the court for the main scorers.
As noted, the main offensive tools of the Celtics will be the duo of Tatum and Brown. They will have the support of Marcus Smart and Derrick White primarily, as the Celtics do not score a ton of points in the paint. They are actually ranked 16th in that metric in the entire league, according to TeamRankings.
Defensively, it will be a total team effort that either makes or breaks this series for the Celtics, especially against the supremely talented Nets. However, one holding factor on both sides of the court will be Al Horford. He has 122 playoff games in his career, more than Tatum and Brown combined, and his experience will be so valuable in this series. He might not be the best player on this roster, but he will be the Celtics' X-Factor in their series versus the Nets.