Five storylines to watch as Celtics begin stretch run

MILWAUKEE — With the final two months of the Celtics season set to kick off on Thursday night in Milwaukee, there are plenty of intriguing subplots surrounding this squad in the wake of a disappointing start to the 2018-19 campaign. What should Celtics fans be watching for as the stakes are raised over the final 24 games of the regular season? Here’s a closer exploration of five storylines that will have a significant impact down the stretch for the team, both now and in the future.

1. Will Gordon Hayward continue to turn the corner?

It has been a rocky road for the swingman in his first season back from a gruesome broken ankle. He has been handed a steady diet of minutes even after losing his starting gig in November, despite the fact that on many nights he was not outperforming his teammates for that playing time. For months, his shooting accuracy has been lackluster, his timidness at the rim was alarming, and it was evident his foot speed and explosiveness on both ends of the floor weren’t close to 100 percent.

The Celtics, understandably, have been committed to Hayward’s recovery regardless. They have millions invested in him and know that in order for him to get back to his former self he needs reps. That process may have cost them a few wins in the early going, but it’s starting to pay off in the past few weeks. Hayward has been a consistent bright spot for Boston over the past 10 games, averaging an efficient 11.8 points per game in just 25 minutes a night. His field goal percentage (50 percent) and 3-point percentage (44 percent) have been great over that stretch, while his free-throw attempts (2.8 per game) have ticked up as well. Perhaps most importantly, the Celtics’ success with Hayward on the floor has been apparent (team-high in plus/minus) after an otherwise rough January in this department.

We’ve seen flashes of brilliance from Hayward at other times this season but never over such a condensed period as we have in February. His performance against an elite competitor (Sixers) on the road looked like a serious checkpoint for him. While other East contenders added key supporting pieces at the trade deadline, the Celtics getting Hayward back at 85-90 percent of his former self would be the biggest gain among all the teams involved. Just how much his progress sustains in the next 24 games — notwithstanding the twisted ankle Brad Stevens announced will make Hayward questionable for the Bucks game — will be a pivotal subplot in the fortunes of this Celtics team, and not just for this season either. A strong finishing kick will show Kyrie Irving and perhaps Anthony Davis that Hayward can be the All-Star piece needed to help this group contend consistently over the long-term. Otherwise, Hayward could look like an overpaid obstacle for this team’s future (due to his contract).

2. What will the Celtics end up doing with their final roster spot?

There have been plenty of notable additions (Jeremy Lin, Enes Kanter, Markieff Morris, Wesley Matthews, Wayne Ellington) who have found homes on the buyout market since the trade deadline, but the Celtics have not been able to get into the game just yet to fill their 15th roster spot. That’s no surprise given the depth of their roster. All the other playoff teams that have signed players have had better playing opportunities available than Boston, due to weak depth or injury situations that have popped up. The Celtics have had no real issues on that front yet, pending the status of Aron Baynes’ bruised foot (set to be re-evaluated after the All-Star break).

Barring a few other useful veterans on bad teams receiving buyouts ahead of the March 1st deadline, there aren’t really any names out there that will push for playing time (outside of an injury happening) in Boston’s rotation. Danny Ainge may just elect to stay patient and see whether a need arises before making any kind of a move with this roster, but it will be interesting to see what direction he goes in after opening up the final roster spot. Will it simply be signing a player to a bloated deal for the next two seasons in order to use him as part of a Davis trade next summer (to help with salary matching)? Or will some big man depth be added as insurance to protect against the injury-prone Baynes this year? Perhaps a shooting specialist like Omri Casspi will become a target, even though it’s easy to think useful names may pass on the opportunity in Boston due to a lack of available minutes. We should find out an answer on this front in the next few weeks.

3. Can the Celtics become a consistent road team?

Prior to last Tuesday’s win over the Sixers in Philadelphia, the Celtics had not beaten a team above .500 away from the TD Garden since November (Oklahoma City). They are now just 2-7 against over .500 squads, but their schedule is littered with those opponents over the final 24 games of the year, starting with Thursday night in Milwaukee.

In the next few weeks alone, they have dates with Toronto, Golden State, Sacramento, Philadelphia and the LA Clippers, all coming on the road. After thriving in hostile environments last season, the Celtics have been a mediocre squad in the first half of the year as a visiting opponent (14-13). Both their offensive and defensive play have shown sharp negative splits on the road all year long. If the Celtics want to have any hope of securing the No. 3 seed or better in the East playoffs, they will need to turn the tide on this front and show more composure away from home.

They have the most road games remaining (14) among all East contenders, so there will be little margin for error here. The good news is that they have won four straight road games, but the majority of those have come against subpar opponents (New York, Cleveland, Atlanta). It’s been tougher for all teams across the association to win on the road this year: just seven squads have records above .500, but every single contender is among that group. The Celtics will have to play extremely well in this area to maintain that standing over the next two months and prove to themselves that they are capable of doing it in the playoffs as well after going 1-8 as a road team in the postseason last year. Given the standings, winning two road series may be necessary to even get to the NBA Finals this year.

4. How much of a priority will the Celtics place on seeding versus maximizing rest for the postseason?

For now, with a five-game deficit in the standings behind the second-seeded Raptors, landing a top-two spot in the East with just 24 games to play seems like a long shot. The more realistic goal, given the team’s challenging schedule, will be holding off the Pacers and Sixers for the No. 3 seed. The obvious positive on landing the three-spot would be to avoid a first-round battle with either squad in the 4 vs. 5 matchup, but it’s intriguing to think about what the C’s might prefer internally on this front.

Without Victor Oladipo in the fold, facing the Pacers in the first round (in a potential 4-5 matchup) does not look like as tough of a battle anymore. The case could even be made that the likely sixth-seeded Nets would be a tougher first-round opponent (if fully healthy) than Indiana. Unless Brad Stevens has a strong preference for a second-round draw (Milwaukee or Toronto), going all out down the stretch in April to secure the highest seed may become less of a priority than resting up veterans and nicked up players for the playoffs.

5. How will the shadows of Anthony Davis and Kyrie’s future impact this squad?

The trade deadline may have passed, but the discussion about the future of Davis is not going to fall by the wayside in the foreseeable future. The Celtics' youngsters are going to be constantly brought up in hypothetical scenarios now through June as the pressure of the postseason looms. Obviously, Danny Ainge has made no promises yet about what he’s willing to offer for the All-Star big man, but there’s no denying that this team’s performance over the next few months will have a big say in what offer he’s willing to present. Refusing to consider moving Jayson Tatum in a deal gets a whole lot easier if the 20-year-old helps lead the Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance in June.

A strong performance by Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart on the way there may convince Ainge he is better off sticking with this group for the future. The team’s play will also seemingly have some kind of impact on Irving’s free agency future as well. Will he demand an AD trade in order to commit to Boston? Will a deep Celtics run in the postseason reaffirm his desire to stay in Boston even without a major trade? While the Celtics youngsters and Hayward don’t have direct control of their future, they can make the case to be kept together after a disappointing first half. Otherwise, a lackluster finish will likely be the final straw for big changes come July. The pressure will be immense on this group for that reason, and it will be fascinating to see how they respond since almost everyone on this team has a strong track record of raising their games in the postseason.