When the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward and then traded for Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2017, it was supposed to be the beginning of a new era for Celtics basketball. Boston had been in a slow and steady rebuild as it moved on from the Boston Three Party era. The Celtics collected assets, hired a great coach in Brad Stevens, and finally, they cashed in all that time and patience to bring in two stars. This was it. The Celtics had made their move.
Then, in his first game for Boston, Hayward suffered a horrific leg injury. Before the new era could even begin it had already lost a key player for the season. Thankfully, Hayward was able to make a recovery and is finally back to playing basketball for the Celtics. However, that does not mean he’s been the same star they signed him to be. Hayward has struggled for the Celtics this season and it’s noticeable.
After Saturday’s 115-111 loss to the Warriors, one anonymous Golden State player spoke to Jeff Goodman of Stadium and told him what many are thinking. Hayward isn’t himself this season, and they went so far as to call him a liability.
Via CLNS Media.
“I talked to a Warriors player who told me, ‘listen, Gordon Hayward is not Gordon Hayward right now,’” said Goodman on the Garden Report. “‘He’s hurting them.’ The Anonymous player continued. ‘He’s a liability on both ends of the court.’”
The Warriors are known for talking trash about other players and backing up their talk, but in the case of Hayward this anonymous person is simply making a factual statement.. Hayward hasn’t just struggled this season, he’s been a major negative compared to those around him.
According to the NBA.com stats site, the Celtics have a net rating of +1.4 when Hayward is on the floor. When he’s off the floor though this has increased to a +11.4. That’s a full 10 points per 100 possessions better when Hayward is on the bench. Hayward was moved from the starting unit to the bench on November 19. For Hayward himself, it has made no difference. The Celtics still have a net rating of +1.4 when he’s on the floor. The rest of the team though has been even better since he was moved to the bench. When Hayward sits, since November 19, the Celtics have a net rating of 13.9.
These are the types of numbers that, if the Celtics make the playoffs, Boston might have to ask themselves how much they want Hayward to be playing. Teams are going to find this weakness and exploit it. Hayward’s a liability and that’s a problem that needs to be solved sooner rather than later.
Does this mean that Hayward has no hope at all? No. He’s still only a half season into his on-court recovery from an awful injury. Beyond that, his value as an asset couldn’t be lower at the moment and the Celtics have to be patient in hoping he regains the form that made him such a coveted free agent a year and a half ago. Still, in the postseason rotations get shorter and if Hayward still has these peripherals and looks like this come April and May, he might be used much more sparingly than anyone would’ve anticipated in 2017.
