WALTHAM — One indication of how much Al Horford has seen change in his 11 NBA seasons is how unusual it now is to see the type of lineup the New Orleans Pelicans will bring to town Tuesday night compared to when Horford made his debut in 2007.
With the frontcourt tandem of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have a “Twin Tower” lineup that used to be commonplace in the league — in terms of size and potential double post presence, if not necessarily the combined elite skill of Cousins and Davis — but is now somewhat of a relic in the current NBA.
“When I got to the NBA,” Horford said following Tuesday’s 75-minute practice, “I think probably the only team that had a lineup like (most teams do) now with the stretch (power forward), and all that, was Toronto with (Andrea) Bargnani and Chris Bosh. Bosh, at the time, wasn’t shooting many 3s. He was all mid-range and post. Bargnani was shooting 3s — and that was a big deal. Now you don’t see many groups like this with two traditional bigs.”
Containing those two bigs — along with former Celtics Rajon Rondo and E’Twaun Moore in the starting lineup — will be Boston’s charge on Tuesday as the Celtics return to the parquet for the first time in 11 days following the trip to London.
The Celtics will bring a seven-game win streak and the best record in the Eastern Conference to the game against a New Orleans Pelicans team that entered Monday night in sixth place in the Western Conference at 22-20 after languishing in the lottery last season.
“They both can do so much,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Cousins and Davis, who are averaging a combined 62.2 points and 22.8 rebounds per game. “It’s a tough game to prepare for. There’s a reason they’re seventh offensively in the league right now. They’re really good.”
The Celtics will likely go with a heavier dose of Aron Baynes than usual when Cousins and Davis are on the floor together with Horford being the biggest constant regardless of whether he is alongside Baynes, Marcus Morris in a smaller lineup, or Daniel Theis.
“What Al allows you do is that gives you another guy who shoots like a traditional guard,” Stevens said. “He can play both spots (center and power forward). Then his ability to guard (power forwards) allows him to play with anybody small or big.”
The Celtics got back to work with a full team at practice — other than Gordon Hayward — on Monday after Horford (knee/calf soreness), Tatum (knee tightness) and Shane Larkin (illness) sat out Saturday’s workout.
Horford said his absence was mostly a rest day and that he expects to be fine moving forward, while Stevens said tests on Tatum’s knee came back clean and that he is “at least questionable, probably probable” for Tuesday night.
Tatum said he plans to play.
“Just tweaked it in the game in London,” Tatum said. “Long plane ride, it got stiff. We have a few games off between games so they told me to rest (Saturday) for practice.”
Stevens said his trips to Hawaii to play with Butler University helped him and the team’s training staff devise the plan for the four days off between London and Tuesday’s return to action.
“We’ll all be anxious to play (Tuesday) and get back at it,” Stevens said. “My biggest thing is that we have to keep our foot on the gas. Saturday we came in and we didn’t stop moving for 45 minutes — it was basically run the cobwebs off from the flight. Then (Sunday) was a good day off for rest. (Monday) we were a little more purposeful for what we’re doing.”
Keeping the “foot on the gas” has been a point of emphasis for the coach whenever he’s been asked about the loosening of the schedule over the final four months of the regular season after the Celtics played 43 games by Jan. 6. While the coach said he welcomes additional rest, he wants his players to use the extra practice time purposefully, and resist any temptation to let focusing wander with additional downtime.
“We appreciate having these days to rest that we didn’t have early in the season,” Tatum said. “But we can’t let up. We’ve got to get better. With rest, and our practicing, that will benefit us a lot.”