Al Horford and what could have been

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty ImagesThese NBA Playoffs have a cruel sense of humor. The matchups in the quarterfinals seem fated by the basketball gods or at least scripted by reality show producers. Jimmy Butler vs. T.J. Warren. James Harden, Chris Paul, and (eventually) Russell Westbrook against their former teams. And for the Celtics and 76ers, this first round series is the Al Horford Bowl.

It would be one thing had it been a messy divorce. The 2018-19 campaign might have been an utter disaster/disappointment/failure, but there were really no indications that Horford had plans of leaving and not picking up his $30.1 million player option. You can’t blame him though. For Horford, he…