Hayward is the key to winning Heat/etc, but he must come off the bench

[djFan71]

How do you even decide at what point is he gonna be an asset rather than a liability on the floor? 70% healthy? 80%? 86.3% healthy? If they try to ease him in, they could bring him off the bench.

Assuming there isn't a risk of re-injury, how healthy does he need to be for playing him to be a better option than playing Semi, Grant, and Wanamaker a combined 38 minutes a game? Because that was what we were resorting to in the Raptors series. I don't think he has to be that healthy to be a much better option than Semi in limited minutes.

Skill-wise and BBIQ, I take a hobbled Hayward over anyone on the bench. I guess I'm worried about his mobility on defense more than anything.

Those are the 2 things in order for me. No re-injury risk, then mobility on D. If he has that, play him as long as he can go. I think once you get past #1, then bring him off the bench for short stints and see how it goes. If he can hang, the short stints become long ones.

To the OP, whether it's bench or starting at that point, I don't really care. Just play the current starters/Gordon for as close to 40 minutes as they can go and win 8 more times.

[yazfan]

So is Hayward still leaving for baby G ?

His wife posted something along the lines "Next time I see you you will have your boy?"

That reads past tense.......

That would certainly be an interesting twist.

Where was this posted?

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2020/09/06/gordon-hayward-ankle-injury-update-celtics


I was close "Next time we see you you won't be the only boy"

Still past tense

[Valid]

I am in favor of bringing Hayward off the bench if he returns. I think he'll be fine either way because he is not a guy who needs to shoot the ball to be effective, but it would be nice to have him anchor a second unit that desperately needs some scoring punch. All things considered, he is going to be playing starter minutes regardless.

[BigTrade92]

So is Hayward still leaving for baby G ?

His wife posted something along the lines "Next time I see you you will have your boy?"

That reads past tense.......

That would certainly be an interesting twist.

Where was this posted?

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2020/09/06/gordon-hayward-ankle-injury-update-celtics


I was close "Next time we see you you won't be the only boy"

Still past tense

Wow yeah kinda infers like he's skipping the birth. Didn't see that coming.

[Jammer]

You guys are way more optimistic about his recovery than I am.

I'd be happy for 7 minutes a half from Hayward, initially.

Two games of 7 a half.

Than try 8 or 9 a half.

Anyone thinking he's going to return to starter minutes is dreaming.

He's got to brought back gently. Definately for the first 3 games. Which means (I think) that he should come off the bench at least his first 3 games back.

The trick is to have him contribute, but not break him down.

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

We're facing back-to-back fully healthy teams. It's annoying tbh. I don't even know how effective Hayward can be if we play him and his mobility is compromised. Remember those times when he can't blow by anybody including Kyle Korver? Still better than having Semi out there I guess. Just depends if he can keep up on the defensive side of the ball.

[ConstableGeneva]

Only saw this today... Woj stole my fun fact!

Read on Twitter

[2Mas]

Has there been any update on him? Seen he was doing basic shooting drills.

[TheMartian]

Just want him playing in this series as soon as possible, whether off the bench or as a starter.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

You guys are way more optimistic about his recovery than I am.

I'd be happy for 7 minutes a half from Hayward, initially.

Two games of 7 a half.

Than try 8 or 9 a half.

Anyone thinking he's going to return to starter minutes is dreaming.

He's got to brought back gently. Definately for the first 3 games. Which means (I think) that he should come off the bench at least his first 3 games back.

The trick is to have him contribute, but not break him down.

My "realistic expectation" is he doesn't play game 1, plays ~10 minutes game 2, gets Wanamaker's minutes in games 3-4 and gets up to around 25 per game after that until he leaves the bubble for his son's birth.

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

[OldCeltics]

Where is Hayward??? We need scoring off the bench!

[ConstableGeneva]

Good read. KG has interesting takes on Gordo, the bubble, and the Cs playoff run.

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/16/nba-boston-celtics-kevin-garnett-crown-royal-interview/

[OldCeltics]

Good read. KG has interesting takes on Gordo, the bubble, and the Cs playoff run.

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/16/nba-boston-celtics-kevin-garnett-crown-royal-interview/

KG cast some shade towards Hayward. But Hayward is a solid scorer and distributor, below average defender.

Yet we will not win championship without his help. We need his playmaking off the bench urgently.

He doesn't fit with the starters because he's the 4th scorer after Kemba Tatum Brown. Starting unit needs Smart defense.

[celtics543]

Hayward off the bench for 7 minute each half so we don't have to see Semi and can get Tatum/Brown a break would be great. I've accepted Wanamaker as solid enough to play off the bench.

Also, because Bam isn't a shooter I wouldn't mind seeing Kanter a little bit in this series. If it doesn't work then fine but at least give it a try.

[ConstableGeneva]

Is Hayward the most overqualified 4th option in recent memory? When healthy, he could be a 2nd option on half the NBA teams and 3rd option on all the teams.

[Fencer reregistered]

Good read. KG has interesting takes on Gordo, the bubble, and the Cs playoff run.

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/16/nba-boston-celtics-kevin-garnett-crown-royal-interview/

KG cast some shade towards Hayward. But Hayward is a solid scorer and distributor, below average defender.

Yet we will not win championship without his help. We need his playmaking off the bench urgently.

He doesn't fit with the starters because he's the 4th scorer after Kemba Tatum Brown. Starting unit needs Smart defense.

Right. There are at least three kinds of reasons Hayward should come off the bench.

1. He should always have come off the bench, for your reasons and KG's. aka He's best utilized on offense as a decision-maker and creator with the ball in his hands, even when healthy.

2. When he's recovering, he's not sure what he can do, and his teammates are not sure what he can do, it's a BETTER idea to make him the ball-controlling decision-maker than it is when he's healthy.

3. Force-feeding him a starting role was a mistake not that long ago. It would be bad for team cohesion to risk repeating it.

[playa-hater]

Off the bench or starting IS NOT as BIG as getting Walker out, late in a close game for defensive purposes, Who closes games>who starts games

[Triple7]

Read on Twitter

How do you even decide at what point is he gonna be an asset rather than a liability on the floor? 70% healthy? 80%? 86.3% healthy? If they try to ease him in, they could bring him off the bench.

Assuming there isn't a risk of re-injury, how healthy does he need to be for playing him to be a better option than playing Semi, Grant, and Wanamaker a combined 38 minutes a game? Because that was what we were resorting to in the Raptors series. I don't think he has to be that healthy to be a much better option than Semi in limited minutes.

Skill-wise and BBIQ, I take a hobbled Hayward over anyone on the bench. I guess I'm worried about his mobility on defense more than anything.

I agree. A 50% Gordon is a mile better than Semi. I hope he returns by game 3, even on limited minutes. He’s bound to have a good game after that, which we really need. I have watched the bubble game against the Raps, and we are a much more complete and dangerous team with Hayward. Just imagine a lineup of Smart, jaylen, hayward, JT and Theis. No liablity on defense on that lineup. Plus the offense would be better. Especially since Kemba is struggling.

[SmartWentCrazy]

You dont rock the boat this far in the playoffs, especially as Hayward is going to need to get his wind back. He’ll come off the bench for the rest of the year, pending injury to someone else. Wouldnt bank on him cracking 30MPG until [hopefully] the finals. Its just not realistic considering his conditioning.