Gordon Hayward Thread

[soxfan2003]

Bump.

Bump. How's gh's **** ass play in a real series

Some of you only want to talk about a player when he's down. Makes me sick.

Gordon can bounce back.

I believe he will bounce back shooting the ball. I am more concerned with his defense than his offense. His defense in game 1 like most of the Celtics was very good. His decision making tonight on offense was very good once again but for him to have a real good game offensively, he needs to hit a couple of more shots. His looks were fine but he just missed.

My concern right now with C's is 85% on the defensive end and Hayward along with nearly every other Celtics player is a part of that. Right now, Celtics don't have the height/defense to give Milwaukee's offense a lot of problems. I can see why Stevens hasn't played Baynes much but with Smart also out, it kind of makes the Celtics defense more finesse that I would like unless all of the players are playing really intensely.

[darylbe]

Bump.

Bump. How's gh's **** ass play in a real series

Some of you only want to talk about a player when he's down. Makes me sick.

Gordon can bounce back.

talking about a player when he's down? he's been down for 2 seasons and 60 million dollars.

??????????????

and I know- "you try and face a devastating injury and play at the pro level". i know, i know. check him in to assisted living when the season's done, and maybe his 4th season he'll be back to 75%.

[celt4life]

I really want Hayward to work out..... but the dude is soft as jello, no fire and intensity.... that’s why he’s fine coming off the bench. He’s not an alpha, to be honest not sure many are besides smart!

[cloverleaf]

Haven't seen either loss. But it seems as if Brad has stuck with small despite the Bucks having adjusted big. And that makes it tougher on every C's defender.

[OldCeltics]

Haven't seen either loss. But it seems as if Brad has stuck with small despite the Bucks having adjusted big. And that makes it tougher on every C's defender.

Agreed, Stevens needs to put Baynes back in the line up. This line up was lucky for 1 game, but no team will ever win with Morris in starting line up.

[Red2]

We aren’t a big team so brad has to play with who he has. But Hayward is a key guy off our bench if not the key guy and he has to give us more than what he’s produced thus far

[cloverleaf]

We aren’t a big team so brad has to play with who he has. But Hayward is a key guy off our bench if not the key guy and he has to give us more than what he’s produced thus far

That's IMO the story of the last two games--the Bucks adjusted by going huge, starting Mirotic over Sterling Brown, and Brad held pat through two losses -- using Baynes even less, at just 2 minutes, in game 3. Brad also went still further in the other direction, when the size made it tougher on Kyrie, Brad doubled down and played him more minutes, while, heretical as it is even to type, Terry is maybe even the more effective two-way player in this particular match up.

[31to6]

I felt we needed GH to approximate 2012ish Pierce, and after seeming to have that down late season/against IND, he went totally mute on us again. If he's here with a more prominent role next year I'll be reasonably optimistic about him. But would've been great if he'd given us something this series.

[BRUNiNHO91]

Can't believe this guy is just going to go down this way. Completely went into his shell and refuses to come out. Leg injury be damned dude is healthy enough to outplay George **** Hill or Sterling Brown. Ffs.

[OldCeltics]

Gordon is playing like a 7 mil/year role player.

His passing is great, but when we need him to take over, he just keeps passing, or missing 3s. He cannot get passed his man, or create shots.

[djFan71]

It's almost too ingrained in him to make the "right" play. But not many others do, so he never gets it back. I think the length of MIL has made him even more timid on his own shot when going to the rack. But, I miss the 10-15 footer. In games when he's on, he seems to be able to get an open 12 footer every time down the court. He'd drive, pull back, sometimes spin, and shoot wide open. He isn't going for those this series. Just drive and pass. Make a good cut and not get the ball. Repeat.

[greenroom31]

Sort of surprised at how many apologists there are for Hayward. If you ask me his terrible play and Brad's commitment to him in spite of it has been the biggest catalyst for this year's ugly play and locker room issues. Kyrie takes most of the blame because he's out front and has no filter in interviews (and he has definitely contributed, or at least stoked the flames), but guys like Jaylen have to have been frustrated by losing minutes to a guy who is playing like crap most of the season but is the head coaches personal pal.

I get it -- he hurt his leg and is trying to come back from injury. That doesn't give him a free pass for the whole year in my book. If you're hurt, don't play in the games -- let the other guys play and recognize you're hurting your team. Honestly, Brad should have been the one making this call but seems incapable due to his personal relationship. Just a crap situation all around, but continuing to play him 30 minutes per game when he's basically useless out there is infuriating.

A big part of the reason we're losing this series is because the bench is getting crushed, and Hayward is supposed to be one of the leaders in that regard. He's as responsible as anyone for the awful performances the last 3 games.

[b3n]

4 for 18 in the last three games (on <25% FG%, with only 3 trips to the line) is just bad. 4+ for 12-16 is what I expect out of him per game. His lack of aggression in this series has been a huge void in our bench.

[Banks2Pierce]

The injury was an earthquake that is still leaving ripples and will now likely to end with Kyrie leaving. Any coach would've been screwed by this herky jerky confusing season by Hayward and it's not Hayward's mentality to blame or Brad's buddy/buddy with him. It's 100% the injury and the peaks and valleys of recovery.

That Red Auerbach quote of Danny being lucky looks more and more absurd by the year. If he was even neutral on the luck scale, we'd have multiple banners beyond 2008's.

[RoyceDa59]

I think Hayward will have a strong 2019-2020 campaign. He's been getting better all season and it hasn't been an easy one.

With another off-season to fully assess the season and train, Hayward should return to all-star status next season.

[CelticsLV]

I think Hayward will have a strong 2019-2020 campaign. He's been getting better all season and it hasn't been an easy one.

With another off-season to fully assess the season and train, Hayward should return to all-star status next season.

Agree. His fundamentals are way too sound to just flame out of the NBA. Don't see why he can't make a strong comeback like Gallinari just did unless there are some legit mental problems with him. I think he just doesn't fit on this current roster and especially with Kyrie. His role is just not consistent. And I can't tell who's to blame but I believe it's largely Brad. One possession he dribbles over the court to initiate the offense, the next he just stands behind the 3 in the corner and that's mostly what he's relegated to. How about you give him like 6 minutes of main ballhandler duties? He's always been at his best when he has the ball in his hands. During this year's playoffs, his USG% has been below 15 while his minutes are basically at 31MPG!!! His USG% in Utah during his last season was basically double of this. This is an abomination.

[ddb]

This has been a tough season for Hayward, but we needed to expect that. His injury was major. But I fully anticipate him returning to the starting lineup and All-Star form next season. Especially, if Kyrie is gone. My whole thought process on Hayward is this. Good things happen when Hayward handles the basketball (with confidence). He is a point forward. He sees over defenses. Once he has his first step back consistently, and his shot back, he's going to be awesome for this team. He usually makes the right play.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

I think Hayward will have a strong 2019-2020 campaign. He's been getting better all season and it hasn't been an easy one.

With another off-season to fully assess the season and train, Hayward should return to all-star status next season.

Agree. His fundamentals are way too sound to just flame out of the NBA. Don't see why he can't make a strong comeback like Gallinari just did unless there are some legit mental problems with him. I think he just doesn't fit on this current roster and especially with Kyrie. His role is just not consistent. And I can't tell who's to blame but I believe it's largely Brad. One possession he dribbles over the court to initiate the offense, the next he just stands behind the 3 in the corner and that's mostly what he's relegated to. How about you give him like 6 minutes of main ballhandler duties? He's always been at his best when he has the ball in his hands. During this year's playoffs, his USG% has been below 15 while his minutes are basically at 31MPG!!! His USG% in Utah during his last season was basically double of this. This is an abomination.

Brad is the guy who knows how to use Hayward better than anyone. Hayward is in the NBA because Brad maximized him in college. IMO Brad has been pressured from above to cow-tow to Kyrie because of his pending free agent status. Danny's love-fest with a potential AD trade and the necessity he sees in keeping Kyrie to make it happen has been the overarching theme with everything this team has done all year.

[Bleeding Green]

I think Hayward will have a strong 2019-2020 campaign. He's been getting better all season and it hasn't been an easy one.

With another off-season to fully assess the season and train, Hayward should return to all-star status next season.

Agree. His fundamentals are way too sound to just flame out of the NBA. Don't see why he can't make a strong comeback like Gallinari just did unless there are some legit mental problems with him. I think he just doesn't fit on this current roster and especially with Kyrie. His role is just not consistent. And I can't tell who's to blame but I believe it's largely Brad. One possession he dribbles over the court to initiate the offense, the next he just stands behind the 3 in the corner and that's mostly what he's relegated to. How about you give him like 6 minutes of main ballhandler duties? He's always been at his best when he has the ball in his hands. During this year's playoffs, his USG% has been below 15 while his minutes are basically at 31MPG!!! His USG% in Utah during his last season was basically double of this. This is an abomination.

Brad is the guy who knows how to use Hayward better than anyone. Hayward is in the NBA because Brad maximized him in college. IMO Brad has been pressured from above to cow-tow to Kyrie because of his pending free agent status. Danny's love-fest with a potential AD trade and the necessity he sees in keeping Kyrie to make it happen has been the overarching theme with everything this team has done all year.

Hayward didn't really come into his own until his fifth year in Utah (Quin Snyder's first year) and he's a markedly different player than he was in college. He only spent two years in college and I don't see what Brad Stevens has done for the guy here in Boston.

[ZeroTolerance]

I think when Kyrie leaves, it's going to resolve allot of issues for this team....when Hayward has a larger role next season with more minutes, he will respond...