Boston Celtics: Gordon Hayward’s Impact Moving Forward
The Boston Celtics have done their fair share of deal-making during this hectic 2019 offseason. Where does that leave their current core, which includes a former all-star regaining his form following a devastating injury?
Gordon Hayward is entering his second season after the very gruesome injury he suffered after signing with the Boston Celtics in 2017. Having played nearly a full season last year on his new ankle, Hayward was able to average 11.5 points per game while playing 25.9 minutes per game. As all of us want to give Hayward the benefit of the doubt and see him excel like he once did, no one wanted it more than Brad Stevens, and it was made obvious.
Jackie MacMullen of ESPN had this to say about the Hayward situation: “They were force feeding him on his teammates. Stevens gave the benefit of the doubt over and over again to a player that wasn’t ready, to a guy who had history with him, and it rankled that locker room, and bothered that locker room.”
From the outside looking in, she definitely makes a valid point here. Twenty-five plus minutes off the bench to a player who is coming back from a fatal ankle injury should have been restricted more. Hayward says during a document series with The Athletic: “I won’t be the same player; I’m going to be a different player.” Hayward is confident he can be the “same type of player he once was or even better” over the course of time.
Whether Stevens knows he stirred the pot in the Celtics locker room or not, he has and it affected the team chemistry with not only Hayward, but himself as well. I personally think the minutes could have been distributed differently, and that’s a fault of Brad Stevens. Stevens has always shown support for his guys when they’re struggling, but that’s not what happened here.
Being one of the few veterans currently on the team, Hayward is going to be expected to be a leader on the court. The depth chart on the Celtics is pretty wide and diverse, due to the versatility of all the players. I do not think Hayward needs to be a starter on this team, the only problem with that is the contract he has says otherwise.
Just from watching him play and workout, he looks great, but who am I to judge? Danny Ainge said in a recent interview with Chris Forsberg of NBS Sports Boston: “I’m really excited for Gordon’s upcoming season. He’s working hard in the gym every day. I’m anticipating great things from Gordon this year”.
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With a new looking team coming into Boston this season, it’ll be interesting to see how Gordon will fit in with this group of guys, as he continues to move forward from his injury .