For several years, the Boston Celtics have had the number of Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2018, the C’s took down Philly in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They followed that up by going 3-1 against the Sixers in the 2018-19 regular season.
A large part of that success was due to Al Horford, the kryptonite who regularly thwarted Embiid. On offense, Horford could suck Joel away from the basket and force him to defend the perimeter. On defense, Al was a master of angles who could hold his ground against the league’s premier back-to-the-basket scorer.