Former Boston Celtics player Danny Ainge would have back #2: Gordon Hayward
Oh how the mighty HH message board’s own Hooligan will fry me like potato skins at TGI Fridays should he see this entry. While Gordon Hayward is currently injured with a foot injury, his pre-injury performance showed the Cs what they are currently missing…and what they were missing for much of the last several years.
Hayward’s absence this season has been felt in many ways, as the team no longer has the depth to survive stretches where the second unit takes over. The presence of #20 (you know, before Moritz Wagner wore it for a cup of coffee) was a stabilizing one even on the sidelines, and it allowed Marcus Smart to get up his shot attempts with the bench mob.
Now, Ainge is trying to fill his role with Evan Fournier, who he acquired for several second-round picks at the NBA trade deadline this past March, but that plan isn’t proving to be very effective. Hayward did more for the offense, and his production wasn’t dependent on whether or not his shot is falling.
At this point, perhaps Ainge is kicking himself thinking he let a pivotal piece walk for a TPE that was incorrectly used.