Sixers news: Al Horford admits 2018-19 Celtics wouldn't be able to coexist had they stayed together

Sixers big man Al Horford believes that the 2018-19 Boston Celtics squad wouldn't be able to coexist if they had stayed together.

Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford believes that the 2018-19 Boston Celtics squad wouldn't be able to co-exist if they had stayed together.

To recall, the Celtics team of last year was showered with criticism, mainly about their rumored lack of chemistry which translated into their poor on-court performance. After the season, Kyrie Irving — the culprit of such chemistry problems according to some — left for Brooklyn, while Horfordjoined the Sixers in free agency.

Now, Horford speaks out about hisbelieves that if Irving had stayed, the chemistry issues would still exist:

“I’m not sure that has anything to do with it for me,” Horford said, per Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “I just think that if Kyrie would have stayed, I don’t know if it would have worked. There would have had to be some major changes as far as players, because it was just clear that the group that we had just wasn’t going to be able to coexist.”

The Celtics entered the 2018-19 season with a loaded squad starring Irving, two young guns in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, along with veterans like Gordon Hayward and Horford. They also had Marcus Smart and a decent backup in Terry Rozier.

Many expected them to reach the NBA Finals, at least. But they were booted out in the conference semifinals in just five games. The early exit might have been the nail in the coffin of the most-hyped Celtics team since the Garnett-Allen-Pierce era.

Now, the Celtics still have their young core intact, but with Kemba Walker running the plays. Time will only tell if the Celtics can finally gel together and get over the hump.