NBA playoff scores 2017: The Wizards still haven’t figured out Al Horford or what to do with him

Can we time-travel backwards for a moment? I just want us to go back about three weeks, give or take. It’s April 18, the Celtics have just lost a second game in the first round to the Chicago Bulls. They’re down 2-0, in fact, and Boston is collectively freaking out — as they should be!

There are a myriad targets of their scorn. The top one might have been Al Horford, and understandably. In Game 2, he scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, and it left entirely too many people stroking their chins like the thinking face emoji. “This is the dude we paid $113 million to this summer,” Celtics fans must have been saying, albeit in a much more Boston-y way.

(More like, “Can ya believe we pahd this traitah so much cash? I wouldn’t’uh pahd him the price of a tawnic.” I’m sorry, that was miserable but I couldn’t help it.)

As it turns out, Horford is very good. He has shown it ever since.

Horford followed up that seven-point game with an 18-point showing the next game, and he recorded a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double in the following one. In the series against the Wizards, he’s averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.6 blocks on 69 percent shooting and 59 percent from behind the three-point line. Goodness, Al, calm down.

Though Horford gives up a little bit of size at center, he knows he’s no match for Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi offensively. They don’t like coming out to the perimeter, where Horford has operated constantly this series, purposefully making them uncomfortable. Boston can and often does spread out with five shooters on the floor at once, meaning there’s nowhere for a big man who prefers the paint to hide. Most teams run spread offenses with four shooters, but if you can find a reliable fifth, it’s even harder for teams.

With Horford’s play in this series, it’s clear the Celtics found someone. His regular season had some ups and downs, but he’s finding his groove. It’s almost like ever since that one dud, he really has something to prove. Well, he’s proving it, alright.

Game 5 is Brad Stevens’ dream. The Celtics head coach has built Boston into a specific type of team over the past few seasons, one that has risen from rebuilding to playoff team to, now, Eastern Conference contender. On Wednesday, in a 123-101 win against the Wizards in Game 5 that put them a game away from the conference finals, Stevens must have been beaming internally pretty much the whole time.

It started quickly, with the Celtics leading 16-4 and then 31-16 in the first quarter, ending the frame up by 12 points. By halftime, it was 16, and after three quarters, the lead was 17. Not for a moment did the Wizards seriously threaten to comeback, not against a hostile Boston crowd and a Celtics team that kept hitting timely buckets that never let Washington feel any sort of momentum going their way.

In that decisive first quarter, the Celtics leaked out aggressively and had 13 fast break points in the opening 12 minutes alone. Horford took an active role in the offense at the top of the key, flustering Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi, lumbering centers who prefer the paint. It’s curious why this hasn’t been an even bigger part of Boston’s offense before this game, but his 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in Game 5 speaks for itself.

Washington D.C. sports fans did not have a great Wednesday night. The Wizards were facing the Celtics in a crucial Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NBA Playoffs, and the Capitals were taking on the Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NHL playoffs. They both lost.

The Capitals were the first to go down, falling 2-0 to the Penguins, ending their season. A feeling all too familiar for D.C. fans, and especially Caps fans.

Then Wizards then lost Game 5, 123-101 to the Celtics. No, the Wizards aren’t eliminated yet. But they now face elimination heading back to D.C. for Game 6, rather than looking to close out the series on their home floor. They’ll now have to win a Game 7 in Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the plus side, D.C. fans are very, very familiar with how to deal with disappointment. Plus, if it’s any consolation, the Nationals won on a walk-off home run.

Here they are chanting “F*** YOU OUBRE” after the Wizards guard charged Kelly Olynyk and shoved him in Game 3, earning him an ejection and a suspension. When are we finally gonna do something about Kelly on Kelly crime?

Celtics 123, Wizards 101 (Celtics Blog recap | Bullets Forever recap)