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SALT LAKE CITY – As Gordon Hayward warmed up in front of a small collection of fans an hour before the Boston Celtics game against Utah Jazz on Friday, a lone rowdy screamed at him screaming halfway down the line.
"Miss," shouted the heckle as Hayward set a torchman on fire against a Celtics assistant coach.
The shot fell through.
"Start again," shouted the rowdy.
Hayward's next move also failed. A small smile appeared on Hayward's face. It was impossible to say for sure if the smile was just a reaction to shooting, or if he had heard the rowdy and enjoyed the small victory.
The reaction was not confused when Hayward was introduced a little over an hour later. Fans of Utah let out a rage accumulated for a year when Hayward departed in a deafening chorus of antics.
And there was no question this time around: Hayward was smiling.
Hayward told reporters in Boston a week ago that he hoped the sabbatical year would soften Jazz fans. Obviously, jazz fans were not softened. They chanted "You do not miss us" several times and have been known to be booed early and often. Just as clearly, Hayward did not expect them to be sweeter.
So he smiled through it.
"During warm-ups, it was as if every time, even during warm-ups, they were going boo," Hayward said. "So it was pretty funny to me, but when you're in the game, you do not worry about that, that kind of disappears."
Hayward was not lying: Jazz fans were perfectly trapped in Boston's layup lines and were ready to unleash a chorus of discontent every time Hayward touched the ball. No matter when he was going to do a lay-up or a rebound for a teammate – anger roamed the building at every opportunity.
The excitement did not dissipate as the game progressed, though Hayward silenced it a few times. His first shot was a lay-up in transition from Jaylen Brown, which he finished cleanly. He canned an Iso pull-up later in the half and defended Donovan Mitchell in the second half. The loudest sound, of course, came when he was on the free throw line, but he finished 6-for-6.
Jazz fans, however, had many reasons to explode. Mitchell scored an iso float on Hayward in the second half. Jae Crowder, who replaced Hayward, scored a triple goal in a corner at the end of the fourth quarter as Boston struggled to recover.
"We needed everyone in the arena," Crowder said. "Thanks tonight, we appreciate it, we will continue to do it for you, man, thank you."
The Jazz then abandoned confetti, a tradition after each victory. Hayward kissed Joe Ingles and Ricky Rubio, and he made his way across the court to the brief silence and quietness of the locker room. He took his time, seeming to gather for the buzz of questions that he needed to know, came from the time the schedule was out and was setting his return for November 9th.
Some of the questions were predictable.
"Have you been surprised by the boos?" (He was not).
Some were a little stranger.
"I do not know, I did not think of it like that," Hayward said to the question of whether the game looked like an old friend.
When the press conference ended, Hayward was mobilized by a different group. A usher shook his hand and thanked him. A ball boy greeted him. He kissed a member of the Jazz Public Relations staff. From all sides, his name was called, he stopped and talked to many people who had asked him.
"It was good to see only the people coming in, to see some people around the arena, obviously the staff there and some of the players," Hayward said. "So I would have liked that we won the match but it was good to see everyone."
The Celtics, of course, lost 123-115. They are 1-3 on the trip and frustrated by their defense. The offense went through inexplicable dry periods. Hayward himself is always right: he averages only 10.2 points per game on a shot of 39.4%.
But Hayward could be excused if all the problems of the team and the final score of the match were at the bottom of his list of priorities for one night. While bullshit sounds and confetti still litter the field on which he was once the star, he concluded an evening that he had been anticipating since his story, Player's Tribune, thanking Utah, was made public on July 4, 2017.
Perhaps the most relevant and bizarre question was asked to Hayward during his press conference after the match: was it an evening he was looking forward to or fearing?
"Something in between," Hayward said. "More than anything, I could not wait to see people. I spent seven years here, building good relationships and looking forward to seeing some of these people. Perhaps we dread the effect of all this. With my injury and everything else, it's been a whole year. We are focused on our own stuff and I know that Jazz is also focused on their stuff. "
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