76ers: Brett Brown Raves About Al Horford's Physicality vs. Wizards
The Washington Wizards might be recognized as one of the worst teams down in the Orlando bubble -- but one thing they are solid at is playing a game of physical basketball. In order to come away with a win, the Philadelphia 76ers needed to match Washington's physicality. And they needed somebody to lead by example.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown believes Al Horford did just that. "The physicality of that game, you felt," Brown said following the win over the Wizards. "You knew you needed something to compete with that. It needed to go apples for apples -- and [Al Horford] if he's anything, it's physical."
"That's what we're all about," Horford said in regards to physicality on the court. "We want to set the tone physically and defensively. I felt like we were doing that at the start of the third. So when I came in, I just wanted to make sure I brought that edge a little bit." If you judge the game based on the stat sheet, you would think Horford was barely a factor in the win over Washington.
With nearly 30 minutes off the bench, Horford contributed to just two points. However, his ten rebounds and plus-18 statistics will tell an entirely different story. As Coach Brown puts it, Horford had his "thumbprint on the game." And Although Joel Embiid shined for the third-straight game, it was Al Horford who rang the Sixers' bell following the victory after setting the correct tone for the team.
"You could just feel stuff change [when he was in the game]," Brown said as he continued to rave about Horford's game on Wednesday. "It was really, to me, the thumbprint he put on it -- it was his physical play. The number of plus-18 reflects how I felt like he contributed to our team. I thought he was great -- he was our bell-ringer tonight. As good as Joel was, I thought Al Horford's presence and partnering alongside Joel was just as good tonight."
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
