Robb: How Gordon Hayward is finding his role doing the little things

Make no mistake about who was the star of the show was in Friday’s overtime win against the Raptors. Kyrie Irving’s 43-point, 11-assist masterpiece kept his team in the game all night and made him the first Celtic in over 17 years (Antoine Walker) to cross the 40-point, 10-assist threshold in one game. The stat line was even more impressive do the efficiency (18-of-26 FG), putting him as the second player this year to post that type of scoring line while shooting over 69 percent from the field (Kevin Durant).

Irving has been putting together these type of absurd performances for a few weeks now yet it hasn’t meant a ton for the C’s in the win-loss column and that trend was set to continue in the closing minutes of regulation on Friday night. After a travel by Marcus Morris, the Raptors had the ball with a four-point lead with under a minute remaining in regulation.

A comeback is certainly possible in that circumstance, but a number of things have to go just about perfectly on both ends of the floor to close that kind of a gap without lucking out with some missed free throws. The little things need to be taken care of and the man on the scene doing them was the Celtic in greatest need of a confidence boost on Friday night. On a team that is still trying to figure out roles, Gordon Hayward seemed to get a little more comfortable in his against the Raptors and showed a little bit of what made him an All-Star in what may have been the biggest development of the evening for the Celtics amid a crucial win.

Hayward’s box score line does not necessarily jump off the page after the 123-116 overtime victory, perhaps except for a couple of lines: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and a team-high plus-18 in a season-high 39 minutes.

“He’s a good player,” Stevens said of his encouraging night. “And there’s going to be a curve. I think that 15 on eight shots is pretty good when you consider how much we’re asking him to handle the ball and make plays for others, but you know, I think he’s – I think he’s done a lot of things in the last couple of weeks where you can see those – those steps are being made. And it’s just a matter of feeling good again. Thirty-nine minutes is a good step in the right direction, as far as just his confidence. And, yeah, go from there.”

“It’s been long time,” Hayward said of the high-minute total. “I was wondering if they were going to take me out of the game at some point in time. I’m glad they left me in to play that many minutes. Playing in that kind of game, with the crowd and that atmosphere, that was amazing, that was a lot of fun.”

This wasn’t the first time all year that Hayward played crunch time, but the case for him to be out on the floor late in games over the past few weeks was starting to look iffy. His on/off numbers are among the worst on the roster for the season and his shooting numbers are there yet either. There’s always going to be an adjustment period but it’s fair to argue that Hayward’s presence was hurting the C’s in games at points as he tried to regain his rhythm and confidence.

Still, with his minutes limit left in the dust, Hayward got the nod over Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown in the final four minutes against the Raptors after a quick minute of rest. Stevens’ faith in him was rewarded as he propelled the C’s comeback in the final minute by doing a bunch of things that won’t mean much in the box score.

Play No. 1: Raptors lead 107-103 with 54 seconds remaining:

Hayward sticks with a cutting DeLon Wright around the basket and sniffs out the pass coming from point guard Kyle Lowry as the shot clock winds down. Not only is he able to deflect the ball for his fourth steal of the night, he catches it and immediately dishes to Irving, who catches the Raptors backpedaling in transition. The stage is set for an easy Jayson Tatum transition dunk in seven seconds, cutting the lead to two, thanks to Hayward’s awareness.



Play No. 2: Raptors lead 107-105 with 30 seconds remaining:

Kawhi Leonard dribbles in isolation on the left wing against Marcus Morris as the shot clock winds down. Al Horford helps with the contest as Leonard gets a shot up, but Hayward is left to box out a bulky 6-foot-9 Pascal Siakam, who has managed to grab two offensive rebounds already in the second half. Hayward holds his ground and position, drawing a loose ball foul while the Celtics were in the penalty. The swingman drilled two free throws down the other end to tie the game, instead of having to score against one of the toughest defenses in the league in the halfcourt.



These are exactly the type of dirt dog plays that Marcus Smart has become famous for down the stretch of games. The C’s starting five and closing five have been looking for someone willing to do the dirty work on nights when Smart doesn't get the call and Hayward has always been the top candidate on that front, based on his track record in Utah. We hadn’t seen his capabilities yet in a Celtic uniform, but having this kind of an impact against an elite opponent is a pretty important step forward for the 28-year-old as he comes to terms with what this team needs him to be to succeed.

“We don’t need Gordon to score 30 points a game, we need him to be a jack of all trades,” Stevens explained after the game. “We need him to be able to guard, to rebound, to pass. If he shoots eight shots in a game, that’s perfect if that’s what the game calls for. If he shoots 16 in a game since that’s what the game calls for, that’s fine. We just need him to be a jack of all trades and we’re all learning each other.”

While doing the dirty work of a Smart on the defensive end, Hayward provides the added offensive upside that we haven’t seen from Smart over the first five years of his career. Hayward’s ability to rebound, push the ball and make the right pass make him a dangerous weapon on plays like this with so many offensive weapons around him.





Hayward’s own shot isn’t back to form yet (39 percent from field, 30 percent from 3-point range) but the respect for it is still there from opponents. The confidence is also there that it will return. In the meantime, the veteran is proving to himself what he is capable of when all the chips are on the table.

“I think with each game there’s situations that I’m getting put in that I haven’t been in in a while so it’s good to kinda check those off,” he said. “And whether I can make the right play or make the wrong play and have a mistake, it’s been good to have those happen. For whatever reason, my 3-point shot is not falling yet. Lot of good looks tonight and they rimmed in and out but certainly some things to be happy about, like I said, to build on.”

The progress hasn’t gone unnoticed in the Celtics locker room either.

“I was happy to see G make some shots and get going in that fourth quarter and overtime,” Morris said. “He played really well. Obviously, Ky and JT took over, but I was definitely happy to see G get going a little bit.”

With Irving playing at his offensive peak in recent weeks and Tatum emerging as a strong sidekick, the need for Hayward to be any more than a No. 3 option on this roster is no longer pressing. The C’s are in much greater need of a grinder and that’s a role that the former Jazz star is starting to look more comfortable in. Those skills helped make him an All-Star a couple years back and they are starting to return more in the past couple weeks.

‘I’ve said it before,” Hayward declared. “I can do a little bit of everything and whatever the team needs me to do to help us win, that’s what I want to do. So if that’s being a playmaker, if that’s scoring, if that’s defending, rebounding, I’ll try to do my best at it. I’m just trying to help us win basketball games.”

He took a big step on that front on Friday night.