Boston Celtics: Power ranking team’s top 5 players right now

4. Al Horford, C

Last offseason, Al Horford was signed to be the other star in this Celtics lineup. While he certainly held his own as Boston’s big-time big man, I’m not quite sure he fully lived up to his expensive contract in his first season with the team.

For a max player, Horford was rather inconsistent. His impact during the postseason was shoddy at best, and he struggled to provide that reliable boost Boston thought it was getting. For statistical evidence, Horford had career lows in rebounds per game and field goal percentage, while averaging his lowest per-game point total since 2011-12 (when he played only 11 games).

Still, I believe he’s primed for a better season in 2017-18. With Hayward now in the mix, Horford will be under less pressure to carry so much of the load offensively. The Celtics will need him to make a bigger impact on the glass, but he’s obviously a huge asset on the defensive end.

Despite that, he finds himself here at No. 4. With that huge cap figure and status as a star, Horford needs to up his game in Year 2 with Boston. Especially with Amir Johnson gone, it’s going to be up to the four-time All-Star to bear the burden of locking down the paint. I believe he’s up to the task.

We’ll see how the 2017-18 season plays out. For Horford’s sake, let’s hope he can return to his All-Star form and dominate for the Celtics like his salary would suggest he’s capable of doing.