On the night of October 17, 2017, the NBA future of Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward was up in air, as he lay on the floor of Quicken Loans Arena with a gruesome lower leg injury, which would turn out to be a broken ankle. Hayward was one of two - along with Kyrie Irving - prized Celtic acquisitions that off-season, and was to be one half of that dynamic duo. Five minutes into the game, though, was when that injury occurred, changing the one-time All-Star's career trajectory and casting doubt on what the rest of his career would look like,
How fitting was it, then, that Hayward have the best game of his career last night, right back at what is now the renamed Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, where a large cloud loomed over his future just a near 25 months prior.
What started with a right handed floater for the Celtics' first bucket of the night last night - a 119-113 Boston victory - morphed into a career-high tying 39 points on an astounding 17 of 20 from the field for the 29 year old. After appearing in just 18 starts last year (though he did play in 72 games), in 25.9 minutes per game, Hayward is averaging 34.2 minutes this year, and did his masterful work Tuesday in just 33 minutes, finishing with 8 assists and 7 rebounds to go along with the 39 points.
In the first quarter alone, he exploded for 15 points on 7 of 7 shooting, while doing it in a variety of ways - back cuts for easy lay ins, pull up jump shots, driving layups. His pull up was smooth, and he was moving really well both without the ball and with it to either glide by defenders or create space for open looks. Cleveland Cavaliers' color commentator Austin Carr - a former Cav great - remarked during a Hayward drive that created a foul that Hayward has "really gotten himself back together" and that he is "definitely coming back". He would finish the half with 22, with 17 in the second half to finish with his 39.
For a Celtic team that looks drastically different from last year not having Kyrie Irving or Al Horford in the fold, Hayward is one of their veterans - along with Kemba Walker - that leads a talented team with budding stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The 9-point win Tuesday put the Celtics at 5-2, with Hayward now one of their go-to options after a year that he used for recovery and to ease his way back to the game after such a catastrophic injury.
Tuesday, he had a career night, and looks to finally be back to his All-Star form.
It couldn't have happened in a more fitting building.
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