A mix of observations and takeaways after the Celtics played one of their best halves of the Brad Stevens era on Wednesday night in a 116-105 victory
Gordon Hayward is finding an old gear: He may not be in All-Star form just yet, but the numbers are looking promising after a 21-10-7 line against the Bucks Wednesday night. The evening couldn’t have started much worse for the 29-year-old as Hayward missed seven of his first nine shots, the majority of which were wide open in the midrange or on the perimeter. Like opening night though, Hayward kept battling and finally found some rhythm after the break. He hit seven straight shoots at one point in the midst of a 7-of-9 explosion while managing to dish out six assists as the Celtics erupted for 74 second-half points. The facilitator that the Celtics thought they were getting from Utah before his ankle injury was on full display in the matchup as he picked his poison based on what the Bucks defense gave him.
“Credit to my teammates, picking me up, picking up the energy for me,” Hayward said. “Telling me to keep attacking, being in my corner. Just having my back. Sometimes that’s all it takes is confidence from those guys, and I was able to see some go in. But it started in the defensive end with some good stops. That picked us up and kind of turned it around for us in the second half.”
Confidence is still a fragile thing for Hayward now as he attempts to regain his All-Star consistency but the early returns after week 1 are incredibly promising. He’s posting 17.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 48.1% FG, 58.3% 3-pt while playing over 34 minutes per game. He’s not forcing the issue with his shot volume but he is driving into the paint far more than last season (12.8 drives per game) which is over double his total in 2018-19. Against Milwaukee, he had a nice pair of lefty finishes but also took what the defense gave him in the midrange when Brook Lopez hung back.
Gordon Hayward adjusts for the left-handed finish! #Celtics
Watch the 4th on ESPN pic.twitter.com/BHgLUw9qi2
— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2019
ROB WILLIAMS THROW IT DOWN! #Celtics pic.twitter.com/sh80BSjeLR
— Casey Baker (@CaseyBake16) October 31, 2019
Big win last night ! Thank you Boston for the support ! Happy #Halloween2019 everybody ???? #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/aSdgDLyNut
— Daniel Theis (@dtheis10) October 31, 2019