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Tim BontempsESPN
BOSTON – When Gordon Hayward tried to block an attempt to toss Milwaukee Bucks 'guard, Pat Connaughton, in the middle of the second quarter of Celtics' 117-113 victory at TD Garden, it just looked like a moment was easily Hayward's best game of the young season.
But after Hayward was called for the goalkeeper, he completely landed on his left leg – the same one where he was injured last season, barely six minutes after his Celtics debut, which cost him the rest of the year. However, unlike this piece, Hayward only felt a momentary flash of pain on Thursday night, then got up and continued to play.
At the end of the match, he had not only set up an impressive stats line: 18 points on 6 shots out of 11, a top in the season, including 3 to 5 in the 3-point range, plus four rebounds. , five badists and one block in 27 minutes – but he also ticked a big box in his attempt to return to his game level before the injury.
"I can feel it now," Hayward said afterwards. "It's definitely a little painful … something new that I have not done in a while. These are things that I have to work on, maybe a scar tissue that I can eliminate a bit. painful, but I think that he has resisted well.
"I have to be knocked down, I have to land on that foot a little awkwardly, so mentally I know I can do it, but also physically, I can hold on and be strong."
It was a night that not only allowed the Celtics to come out of a morose and offensive start to the season, but to score 24 points on a score of 3 to 55 as a team, setting a franchise record and coming This As a result, Hayward gave Boston a glimpse of what he can do when he is right.
Hayward opened the scoring for Boston with a 3-pointer, followed by a stalemate on a shot from goalkeeper Malcolm Brogdon's Bucks and a stop checking against him on the other end . It was a sign of what was happening to Hayward in a game that saw him show the kind of balloon prowess that gives the Celtics another option on the perimeter to create shots. This allowed Kyrie Irving, who had a second consecutive game of shots on goal with 28 out of 10 shots out of 20, including 6 against 12 out of 3, to go with seven badists, looking for shots from the ball.
"It started with a good start," Hayward said. "I was just competing, playing … I already said, but game by game, there are different things [I’m improving on]. I am more and more comfortable. There were open eyes on three that were good and they managed to knock them out, and tonight was good for me. "
After being deprived of Hayward for all of last season and getting used to getting him back on the field so far this year, Boston will be delighted with the opportunity to get used to playing with his teammates and giving them potentially dimension must face the league's elite in the deepest playoffs.
The Celtics started to get an idea of what it might be against the Bucks. The five starters – including Semi Ojeleye, who replaced injured goalkeeper Jaylen Brown (right foot injury) in initial training, finished the two-digit game, while Marcus Morris added 17 points on the bench. It was just as important that Irving, Hayward, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum each end up with at least four badists.
For a team that can sometimes have trouble creating throws at the rim – and is not going to make 24 shots or try 55 of them on a regular basis – having multiple players creating open looks for their teammates will be a A crucial part of Boston 's offensive improvement, which came into the game on Thursday ranked 28th in the NBA, advance.
"Well, I mean all these guys can play," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "At the very top of the key, we get more into our cut-outs and motion-type actions, which I really like, and we did a good job when we did that little run in the fourth.
"You have a group of guys who can play there and I think Gordon is really good pick-and-roll, obviously he's a big smuggler, so we're going to keep feeding all those guys in those And as the season progresses and I become more comfortable with the team, we'll add more to try to build on that. "
Meanwhile, Hayward and the Celtics are about to embark on a five-game journey on the road, their longest of the season. It will begin with a return home for Hayward in his native Indiana against the Pacers – only for him to make a much less hospitable return to Utah next Friday, where he will play against the Jazz, which he left as Standalone player in 2017, for the first time since he's done it.
"I have had good years in Utah," said Hayward. "I thank the Jazz for everything they did for me in my career, I was really looking forward to seeing last year." That was obviously not the case, but it will be a good match, it's a good team. "
When asked how much the boos could be serious, Hayward smiled and said, "It's been a year, so let's hope it's not so heroic, but I'm sure I'm going to get booed." … that's what it is.
"I do not know, I do not know what to expect, hope we have a win."
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