The Celtics finished a successful preseason trip to Abu Dhabi, but Al Horford noticeably did not play in Boston’s two exhibition games.
Luke Kornet started both preseason matchups against the Denver Nuggets with Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta also getting minutes. Head coach Joe Mazzulla had a simple explanation for Horford’s early absence.
“Just ramping him up,” Mazzulla told reporters, per MassLive’s Brian Robb. “We’re still talking about that. He’ll definitely play in one of them, maybe two, just kind of ramping him up and making sure he stays sharp. That’s all.”
Horford played important minutes for the Celtics in the playoffs when Kristaps Porzingis was injured. Boston carefully managed the veteran’s minutes, but that might be tougher if the 38-year-old starts every game while Porzingis misses the start of the season. It’s why Mazzulla and his staff seemed open to a bench role for Horford.
“Yeah, just doing whatever makes sense for the team,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously he’s been great for us both coming off the bench and starting, and so we just have to make that decision, whatever we think is best for the team at the time that we’ll do. And it’s a credit to him that he’s open-minded enough to know that. He’ll just do whatever’s best for the team.”
Kornet showed in the preseason he can be a solid contributor alongside the Celtics’ core four stars. Tillman was an intriguing add before last season’s trade deadline, and Queta offered solid spurts in his limited minutes, so there would be confidence in Boston’s depth if Horford needed to be managed this season.
The Celtics get another look at their depth when they return to TD Garden to play the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason matchup Saturday.