ATLANTA — It’s been fun watching Al Horford play a major role for the Celtics in the NBA playoffs. The ex-Hawks star will be 36 years old soon, but he still has it. Horford is winning with a Boston team that reminds me of some of his best Hawks squads. The Celtics are punching above their weight because of their relentless and unyielding defense.
It’s been a long time since the Hawks did that. They’ve been a bad team on defense for five consecutive seasons. Yet after their first-round loss to the Heat this season, much of the chatter has been about adding more players to supplement Trae Young’s special talents on offense. That’s important, but the team’s deficiencies on defense are a much bigger issue.
I’ve been guilty of focusing too much on the needed offensive tweaks for the Hawks and not enough on their defense needing major repair. Watching Horford’s Celtics and the other teams still playing snapped me out of it. Good defense still is needed to win in the NBA’s dribble, pass and shoot era.
