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The Boston Celtics kept it rolling in the right direction on Saturday afternoon by becoming the first team in the league to secure their 20th win of the season after topping the Phoenix Suns 116-110.
It was a strong team performance that included former All-Star big man Al Horford posting a career-high 11 assists in the win. Following the contest, Horford accredited his career outing to the increased emphasis on sharing the ball, according to Jared Weiss of The Celtics Wire.
Horford on career high 11 assists: We wanted to get better with the ball as a group and Today I thought we took a big step in the right direction.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 2, 2017
Since joining the Celtics two summers ago, Horford has experienced a notable increase in his assist numbers as he's on pace to put together his second-highest career average of 4.9 per contest. This is just a step below his 5.0 assists last season in his first campaign in Boston.
This is a testament to the 31-year-old quickly embracing the team-oriented basketball under head coach Brad Stevens that has allowed him to put together two of his most well-rounded seasons. In fact, he is currently averaging 13.9 points on 54.5 percent shooting from the field and 44.1 percent from beyond the arc with 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game.
His overall play has been a huge part of helping the Celtics get off to such a strong start holding a league-best 20-4 mark. With the level of commitment that he has exemplified through the first portion of the season, it could help set the table for the franchise to experience to a deep playoff run while posing as a serious threat to dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers.
