Al Horford may be a five-time All-Star, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win.
The Philadelphia 76ers big man told reporters on Tuesday that he was ready to accept a bench role for the team during the restart of play in Orlando.
“This is the way that Coach wants to go about it,” said Horford, per Jon Johnson of WIP in Philly. “Teams are going to have to deal with the depth that we have.”
Horford added that he had known prior to the stoppage that coming off the bench would be more his role for the Sixers.
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown also praised Horford on Tuesday for his “great” attitude in accepting the new role, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Horford, who is in the first season of a four-year, $109 million contract with the team, has seen his numbers go down almost across the board in Philly. The 34-year-old is usually at his best playing as a stretch five, but he has had to log more time at power forward with Joel Embiid entrenched at center.
The Sixers are now planning though to move Shake Milton into the starting lineup and switch up Ben Simmons’ position as well. That will allow Horford to lead the second unit and play most of his minutes apart from Embiid, which could be the right formula for the team to thrive in the bubble.
