Al Horford has been through this before: A season with sky-high expectations where the pieces just don't seem to fit.
In fact, this is the second season in a row where Horford's team has struggled to fulfill its promise.
Horford's Philadelphia 76ers entered the season among a handful of favorites to win the NBA title — or at least come out of the Eastern Conference — but Philly is languishing in fifth place in the East, a distant 15.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks thanks in large part to a dreadful 10-23 road record.
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So what gives?
"The star power we have here is so intriguing," Horford said, per ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. "Even for me when I was looking at free agency, coming here with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, you look at all the potential and everything. It's like, man, if we get it together ..."
But to this point in the season, the Sixers haven't been able to do that. Questions remain about whether Simmons and Embiid's skill sets mesh, and countless stories have been written about why Philadelphia hasn't been able to click yet.
For Horford's sake, he's well aware that locker room chemistry isn't always easy to come by. Witness the Boston Celtics' 2018-19 season, where the strained relationships between Kyrie Irving and other players was too much to overcome.
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"It was difficult," Horford told Shelburne. "It just wasn't the right fit."
The 76ers have plenty of time to right the ship before the playoffs, but until then, Horford and Philly fans will just need to trust the process.
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