Boston Celtics: Gordon Hayward is the C’s unequivocal x-factor

The Boston Celtics have a real shot at making a deep playoff run this year and Gordon Hayward will certainly be a major influence on how far they go.

It’s no secret that once the NBA season resumes on July 31st in Disney World, the Boston Celtics will be one of the most often covered and observed teams of the remaining 22. Frankly, it’s to be expected, what with their impressive regular season and current status as the fifth-ranked team in NBA.com‘s most recent power rankings.

By the time of the COVID-19 induced hiatus on March 11th, the shamrocks were gearing up for a successful playoff run. With a record of 43-21, the team was resting at the third seed in the Eastern Conference and the fifth seed in the entire NBA.

Now, heading into these final eight exhibition games and, subsequently, into the playoffs, the team is expected to be quite a handful for any potential opponent. With a lineup consisting of two All-Stars in Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum, arguable All-Star snub Jaylen Brown, former All-Star Gordon Hayward, and Swiss Army man Marcus Smart, it’s easy to understand why.

However, on paper numbers and lineups are one thing, but ultimately it will come down to how the team plays once they get back to action. And, while many might assume that the fate of the C’s season rests on the shoulders of Tatum and Walker — their two top options –, we here at the Houdini believe the biggest factor in the team’s chances at contention is how well their fourth option in the pecking order plays.

This man, as you all are already probably aware, is Hayward.

Met by a rocky start to his tenure in Beantown, the small forward is finally fully healthy in 2019-20 and, in turn, is playing like how many envisioned he would when he initially put pen to paper on his four-year contract back in 2017.

Through 45 games, Hayward is posting 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. Throughout the season, he has proven to be both the Boston Celtics’ best facilitator as well as one of their most dependable scorers.

It’s a relatively accepted notion that the team’s iteration of a big-3 includes the likes of Tatum Walker, and Brown. With their combined averages of 69-plus points, 17.6 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game, it’s hard to argue why this is.

However, it’s relatively underrated how good Hayward has been this season as Boston’s fourth option. Typically speaking, someone of his caliber, and with his production, is more like a number two or, in some instances, a number one option.

The shamrocks have the luxury of having him as a fourth fiddle.

For any team going up against the Boston Celtics this year, they’re already destined to have their hands full with game-planning for their top-two options. However, trying to stop a lineup that has Hayward in somewhat of a complementary option is going to be a nightmare for any team coming into the series, and will prove to be an absolute horror if he continues to produce like he has been.

He’s already proven capable of being a number one option on a deep-run playoff team in the past — averaged 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from deep in 2017 with the Utah Jazz.

If he can play at a similar level as this, or continue at the level of play in which he’s produced all season, the Celtics will easily be one of the hardest teams to beat and, in turn, will certainly give the Milwaukee Bucks a run for their money to represent the Eastern Conference in this year’s NBA Finals.