Who is the biggest x-factor heading into the Celtics-Heat conference finals?
Jeff Pratt: Al Horford was extremely impressive defending Giannis Antetokounmpo in Boston’s series vs. Milwaukee, and he’ll be just as crucial for the Celtics in their ECF matchup with Miami. Bam Adebayo isn’t the unstoppable force that Giannis is, but he’s a strong, versatile big who can hurt you in so many ways. With Rob Williams still clearly not 100%, Horford is Boston’s best bet at containing Bam.
On the offensive side of the ball, Al’s ability to stretch the floor gives him obvious upside as well. Boston will need the 35-year-old to be at his best in this series, which makes him my X-factor.
Andrew Doxy: If the Celtics had Al Horford in 2020, I think we’d have a bunch of people on Twitter calling the Celtics Bubble Fraud champions. Bam Adebayo was a beast in the paint, and while Daniel Theis had a great playoff run that year, he’s just not the type of player that can match Adebayo’s size and speed. In the last two years, there wasn’t a moment when the Celtics missed Al Horford more than that series. Now, they have Al Horford, who’s once again found the fountain of youth. They don’t necessarily need him to score 30 again (though it would be welcome), but just solid defense and rebounding will be enough to mitigate some of Adebayo’s presence. As long as Tyler Herro doesn’t go off for near 40, that should make the difference between a win and a loss for this series.
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Adam Spinella: Miami’s offense is built around their best scorer (Jimmy Butler) and facilitator (Bam Adebayo), two guys who are non-shooters. Sagging off one and protecting the paint (similar to what Milwaukee did off Derrick White in Game 7) is a viable strategy.
To me, the guy best-equipped for the job would be Robert Williams, the…
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