Boston Celtics: 2 keys to winning the title once the season resumes

Boston Celtics’ keys to a championship: A locked-in Gordon Hayward

When the Boston Celtics inked Gordon Hayward to his lucrative 4-year, $128 million deal in the summer of 2017, the idea was that he’d be the final piece to their big-3 including Kyrie Irving and Al Horford and, thus, would bring them closer to adding yet another Larry O’Brien trophy to their already impressive collection.

Of course, as fate would have it, on opening night of his regular-season tenure with the Cs Hayward landed awkwardly on an alley-oop attempt and, in turn, dislocated his ankle and fractured his tibia, thus ending his season before it really began.

2018-19 saw his return from injury, though Hayward understandably looked hesitant and, frankly, not himself after sustaining such a brutal injury and, thus, appeared to be somewhat of a shell of his All-Star self, especially once the postseason rolled around — averaged 9.6 points, four rebounds and 2.4 assists on 41 percent shooting from the field.

Finally, however, 2019-20 has been the first year we’ve actually been able to see a completely healthy Hayward — despite a left hand fracture in November — suit up for Beantown and, in turn, has played quite well.

Through 45 games the 30-year-old wing has put up impressive averages of 17.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep. Though these numbers would probably belong to that of the second option on many other teams, on the Celtics Hayward currently finds himself as the fourth option behind Tatum, Walker, and Brown, respectively.

And, while some may have a problem with this — being he’s the second highest-paid player on the team — this truth actually could bode well for Boston come the postseason, so long as he stays locked in.

Usually, an opposing team’s defensive game plan is geared around stopping the opposition’s main option or, in some instances, focusing in on their top two options.

However, what can a team really do when their fourth option is having as good of a season as Hayward is and has experience being his team’s top-dog and leading them on deep playoff runs — his final year in Utah Hayward guided the Jazz to the second round of the playoffs and averaged 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from deep.

Just based on the C’s top-3 contributors and how they’ve played this season, it’s obvious that any team that will be going up against them come the postseason will have a lot on their plate. If Hayward is locked in and continues to play like he has been for the better part of this season, Boston Celtics fans should be excited for a long and prosperous run.