The Boston Celtics managed to keep their season alive Thursday night, as they pulled out a crucial win over the Philadelphia 76ers to force a Game 7 back at TD Garden. As was expected, this series has proven to be a tightly contested back-and-forth affair, and an ultimate victor is slated to be crowned come Sunday.

Of course, in order for the C's to win their upcoming do-or-die bout, it'll take a whole team effort.

Though having stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on their side certainly gives Boston a fighter's chance on any night, when squaring off against a club consisting of two league MVPs in Joel Embiid and James Harden, each club's star power seems to be canceled out.

More than anything, the Celtics will need their secondary players to step up big for them to have a chance at advancing to this year's Eastern Conference Finals, and there's an argument to be made that the C's biggest X-factor heading into Game 7 is big man Al Horford.

Now in the second season of his second go-around with the Shamrocks, the veteran forward may find himself posting career-low averages in numerous areas across the board, but the impact he's had on this team still remains as vital as ever.

Of those who have logged 1,000 or more minutes for Boston in 2022-23, Al Horford has ranked second in both box plus-minus & defensive box plus-minus, third in win shares, and first in offensive rating.

His usage rate from this season is at an all-time low, but it's what he does with his limited opportunities that have played a massive part in the team's overall success.

From the start of February to the end of the regular season, when Al Horford found himself posting 5+ points and 4+ rebounds while shooting 50% or better from the field, the Celtics boasted a record of 11-1. This type of success rate has only gone on to trickle into their current playoff run, as the team is 4-1 when the veteran posts such a stat line.

Now, this year's postseason has not proven to be the veteran's best by any stretch of the word. On four separate occasions, he has gone on to post three or fewer points, with two in which he registered a whopping zero.

For a player like Horford, this turnout is simply unacceptable if the team wishes to advance.

Of course, sometimes there are outlier examples where the big man's counting stats may fall short of respectability and he still ends up proving to be an invaluable part of the club's success.

Despite only registering 2 points during their highly important Game 6, for instance, Al Horford went on to pull down a game-high 11 rebounds, swatted one shot, and altered several others.

On top of this, he was the vocal leader throughout the contest, particularly late in the game when it appeared that momentum was slipping away from the Celtics when they allowed the once-trailing Sixers to go on a run and even wind up taking the lead for a period of time.

After his impassioned talk with his teammates, Boston went on to reclaim the lead and, in the end, pulled away with an 11-3 run during the final four minutes of action.

Be it with his box score finishes or his leadership both on the court and off on the sidelines, Al Horford has consistently proven his worth to this championship-aspiring Celtics team throughout his tenure.

During Sunday's upcoming Game 7, they'll need him to be at his absolute best in order for them to have their greatest chance of punching their ticket to round three of the postseason.