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“That was a big step for me mentally, a big confidence boost just to finish that first game (and) be back on the court,” Hayward said. “That was a big hurdle.”
Yes, it was nice Hayward made shots (4 for 12), scored points (10), grabbed rebounds (five), collected steals (four) and contributed to Boston’s 105-87 victory against the Sixers.
“I thought about not doing any lobs or backdoor plays this game,” Hayward said of the play that resulted in the injury. “It’s a major part of my life at this point in time, and I tried to just get that out of my head and start playing. Once you’re out there on the court, it’s something that disappears.”
USA Today: Celtics’ Hayward clears mental hurdle but knows he has long way to go
Gordon Hayward looked like a deer in headlights when he drove the ball into the paint last night, but the rest of his game seems to have survived his year-long recovery after a gruesome ankle injury ended his season minutes into opening night in Cleveland exactly one year ago. Credited with four steals against a brutally aggressive 76ers team, it’s evident that Hayward is as physically ready as ever, and that his acute sense for the game hasn’t eroded one bit.
Gordon Hayward's four steals in 18 minutes played tonight match a career high
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) October 17, 2018
Hitting four of his twelves shots isn’t all that exciting, but compared to Kyrie Irving’s 2-14 debut to the season, it almost makes you wonder who is recovering from a worse injury. Don’t be fooled by the goose egg in the assist column; the Celtics leaned on Hayward to initiate the offense for a spell and we finally got to see some of the playmaking potential we heard so much about. He can’t dish like Ben Simmons, but he can work in isolation and pick apart the defense just as well as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. When the defense gave him too much room, he hit back to back midrange jumpers in the face of Joel Embiid. If the shot isn’t there, he gets rid of the ball in a timely manner. It’s not flashy, but if you remember the first possession of the game where the Celtics had to inbound the ball with 2.2 seconds on the clock after not finding a shot, then you have to appreciate that Hayward can get things moving when nobody else can.
Also, this warmed my heart:
Gordon Hayward forgot to give Jayson Tatum the special handshake at first pic.twitter.com/aEqizhrqj0
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) October 17, 2018
On page 2, we look at Kyrie Irving’s slow start
It didn’t. In the first half of the NBA’s season opener at the TD Garden, Irving took eight shots — and missed all of them.
That has happened only one other time in his career: On Dec. 6, 2013, against the Atlanta Hawks, when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Yeah,” Irving told ESPN, “that was the game when [former Cavs coach] Mike Brown took me out after I missed [my ninth shot] in the second half and didn’t play me again. I remember it well.”
ESPN: After time away, Celtics’ Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward start slowly
If you ask me, I’d say Irving looked more gassed than Hayward out there. Not that I’m complaining. While Hayward was everywhere at once, I can’t think of a team where Irving really turned on the jets and tried to blow a defender away. He certainly tried, but it didn’t generate any good looks for him.
Here’s why I’m not worried: the tools are all still there. He still looks like the same Kyrie, but with a lot of rust. Given that he attempts shots exponentially more difficult than anyone else on the team would even consider taking, I guess we should be impressed that he was hitting the rim at all. There was a play where he put some moves on Embiid and crossed him up before taking a high-arcing fadeaway that missed the mark – we’ll call it a warning shot – that showed that Kyrie can still reach into his bag of tricks whenever he needs.
Kyrie Irving philosophy: “When you can’t make a damn shot, spread the wealth.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 17, 2018
We’re probably past the needs for this, but I’ll say it anyway – the Celtics walk, talk, and breathe chemistry. Charles Barkley said after the game that “you can have too much talent, Erneh”, and yet everything the Celtics say and do shows that they’ll gladly defer to whoever has a hot hand to get the win. Here’s a thought experiment: stick Tatum on the Wizards and see how those guys feel about handing the offense over to a 20-year-old. I’ll give it two months (which will contain three players-only meetings) before trade demands pop up.
More links:
MassLive: Jayson Tatum picks up where he left off as Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward return | Joel Embiid on Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum: ‘They always kick our ass’
CBS Sports: 4 key takeaway’s from Boston’s dominant opening win
Boston Herald: Celtics make strong opening statement | Celtics notebook: Gordon Hayward happy to get first game under his belt
NBCS Boston: The Celtics are going to beat teams however they want | Irving, Hayward revel in return to real basketball | Celtics’ Jayson Tatum continues domination over Sixers
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