The Boston Celtics got some good news this week as Robert Williams made his season debut on Friday night against the Magic, and that proved to be very important because in the third quarter starting center Al Horford was ejected for a Flagrant 2 when he reared back and swung and elbow into Moe Wagner’s “groin area” as it was officially called by the referee after review.
Al Horford ejected early in the 3rd quarter vs. Orlando
Here's a look at what happened. #ORLvsBOS pic.twitter.com/MT479xaqdd
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 17, 2022
As Brian Scalabrine notes, Horford didn’t like how Wagner was positioning himself with his knee behind Horford’s knee, but that won’t serve as a good enough excuse to tee off on someone’s nuts. Horford looking shocked he was getting ejected was the best part, because he’s been in the league too long not to think that’s getting a Flagrant 2 after a review. “Unnecessary and excessive contact to the groin area” is a new one for me, but it is an accurate description of what happened, and while Wagner got a foul for his initial contact with Horford, it was the veteran that earned an early exit for his frustrated strike.
That could prove costly in a tight game with Orlando, particularly as the Celtics don’t want to play Williams too many minutes in his first game back, but at least they have some better depth at center than they have for the first 29 games of the season.
