Boston Celtics: How Gordon Hayward could shift the power in the East
A return to form from Gordon Hayward would elevate the Boston Celtics and shift the power in the Eastern Conference
When the Boston Celtics signed Gordon Hayward during the 2017 NBA offseason, many believed that the team was getting one of the top 15 two-way players in the league. He was in the midst of his prime and, at 27 years old, was coming off the best season of his career thus far with the Utah Jazz.
As history remembers though, Hayward would suffer a serious leg injury minutes into his Celtics tenure and miss the entire 2017-18 season. He returned last season (2018-19), but never seemed to look like that budding superstar that Boston believed they were signing in 2017.
In fairness, he did show flashes. Including three 30-point outbursts at different points of the season. The fact that he did shown flashes of his previous brilliance should suggest that Hayward still has it in him.
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A full year removed from his unfortunate leg injury, you have to wonder if Hayward will begin to look more like his former self and less like the player that we saw last season, which, more often than not, played more like a shell of his 2017 self.
It’s one of the biggest questions the Celtics have heading into the 2019-20 season, especially after losing Kyrie Irving and Al Horford in free agency. Hayward, from all indications, could be the real game-changer for the Celtics this season.
The addition of Kemba Walker will certainly help. The expected progression of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who are both participating at FIBA this summer, should help keep the team afloat in a deep Eastern Conference. However, it’s Hayward that coud put them over the top – or, elevate them to true conference contending status.
During the 2016-17 season, Hayward averaged 22 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. He was also a plus defender on the other end of the floor.
He’s the type of player that would excel in today’s game. Flanked by the talent that the Celtics currently has on its roster, and you could make the argument that Boston would be in the same conversation as the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers in the East.
During his career year with the Jazz, Hayward helped lead the Utah to the 5th seed in the West surrounded by a much less talented roster. Utah was swept in the second-round by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors that season, but the fact that Hayward helped lead them that far should give Celtics fans some hope.
If Hayward can be 80 percent of the player he was during the 2016-17 season, Boston would take that in a heartbeat. Where it really gets interesting for the Celtics is if he can get back to form. And while there are some naysayers out there, there is also a segment of the fanbase that believes the presence of Kyrie Irving in the offense held him back last season.
And there could be some credence to that. This past season, Hayward only attempted 8.8 shots per game. His shooting percentages weren’t horrible, as he shot 47 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range, but simply didn’t produce enough – he averaged 11 points per game.
But, again, a big reason why could’ve been that he simply didn’t have the ball in his hands enough to make a real difference on the offensive end. The hope is that the departure of Kyrie will open the offense up a bit more. If Kemba can embrace a more team-ball offense, which I can’t see why he wouldn’t, there will be more opportunities for Hayward to not only involve himself in the offense more but also to impact the game in more ways than one.
Hayward won’t just be a spot-up shooter this season. That’s not the player he was when he had the best season of his career, and that won’t be the case again this season. Not if Boston hopes to take the next step as a contending team in the East.
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The table is set for Hayward to have a huge bounce-back season. If it’s going to happen, this will be the year that it will take place. So as the Celtics enter the 2019-20 season as an afterthought in the Eastern Conference, keep an eye on how Gordon Hayward looks to start the season.
His effectiveness could very much be the key to success for the Boston Celtics this season.