Gordon Hayward's seamless return takes Celtics' starters to new level

There may not be a better ‘welcome back’ game in the NBA right now for a player returning to the lineup than facing off with the reeling Cleveland Cavaliers. A matchup with the 29th best defense in the NBA was the perfect spot for Gordon Hayward to ease himself back into the fold and there were few signs of rust from the 29-year-old beyond a jump shot from the corner going off the side of the backboard in the second half.

That was the one blemish on a wire-to-wire beatdown as the Celtics’ normal starting five (Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis) played together for just the fifth time this season. All eyes were on Hayward in the 110-88 beatdown of the Cavs and it didn’t look like he missed more than a day or two of work given his efficiency on the floor. The 6-foot-8 forward went 7-of-10 from the field on his way to 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal in the victory with any lingering soreness from his left hand a non-factor in his play.

“Not when I was out there playing,” Hayward said when asked whether he noticed his hand. “Tonight was a good test, too, dealing with their bigs and trying to block them out. Certainly, like I said, I have to build up more strength in it. My motion isn't all the way back. But I didn't feel like it affected me.”

Brad Stevens agreed with Hayward’s assessment about the smooth transition.

“I thought he was pretty good,” Stevens said. “I didn't anticipate much (rust). It hasn't been very long in the big scheme of things, especially with what he went through last time. He got baskets off cuts and those typical kind of energy plays, and with the score being what it was, I didn't want to take him out. I wanted to get kind of to where I wanted him to play, minutes-wise, in that third quarter, and stretch himself with 12 straight minutes, but I thought he was good.”

While Marcus Smart (eye infection) was out of the fold for the evening, there doesn’t appear to be any concerns about re-integrating Hayward back into the fold like we saw last year. The swingman was happy to take over his role as a secondary ball-handler and playmaking, showing no signs of slowing down his teammates’ rhythm in the backcourt or on the wing as Kemba Walker (22 points, 7 assists), Jayson Tatum (19 points, 11 rebounds), and Jaylen Brown (20 points, 7 rebounds), all shot over 50 percent from the field with the starters combining for 85 of Boston’s 110 points in the blowout.

The performance gave the Celtics starting five a +47.9 net rating on the year over 38 minutes. That’s a very small sample size over five games but is still the top mark in the league for net rating for any lineup that has played over 35 minutes together and indicative of the potential that this group holds as a unit.

“I think we’re pretty tough with G, of course,” Walker said. “It’s great to have him back. He just does so much for us, man. He just does a great job at just taking pressure off a lot of us. Whenever we need a big play he’s someone we know we can go to and he’s going to make the right play whether it be scoring or making the right pass. So it’s really, really good to have him back.”

While Hayward’s return was one bonus on the night, the fact that Daniel Theis has started making 3s again (2-of-2 on Monday night) adds a different level of spacing to the starting five as well. With four potential 20-point scorers on the floor at all times in that unit, Theis has the ability to open up additional spacing if he can drag his man out of the paint with consistent 3s. He will never be a high volume shooter with that group but his ability to develop on this front after battling through a finger injury in early season action raises the C’s ceiling from an offensive standpoint.

Elsewhere, it’s just going to be up to opposing defenses to pick their poison on every night now and that’s not going to be an easy task against a versatile batch of scorers with plenty of size outside of Walker.

“We’re playing against three All-Stars,” Cavs head coach John Beilein said after the loss. “Maybe more with Jaylen Brown. These are guys that are really established in the league, really good, and they know what they’re doing and how to take advantage of mismatches all with a great coach.”

“I think we've got a lot of talent on this team,” Gordon Hayward added. “So each night it's going to be somebody different, based on matchup and who's feeling good, so that's a weapon that we need to have.”

The test gets tougher now with a pair of East playoff opponents looming in Indiana and Philadelphia on a back-to-back starting on Wednesday but a 17-5 start along with a four-game winning streak despite a host of injuries is indicative of a group that has a higher ceiling than most projected.

“I think that we've so far prepared the right way and gone into every game with the right mindset.” Stevens said. “This will be a fun back-to-back from the standpoint of a great challenge coming up, two really good teams. Two really hard playing teams with a couple more big frontcourts, so we're looking forward to it.”

The search is still on for the C’s best version of themselves just 22 games into the season but with Smart’s return looming later this week, they are going to get their chance in the coming days as Hayward’s adjustment period is not going to be an issue.

“I think it’s a lot easier this time to come back from something when you can run around and you don’t have to rest your legs,” Hayward said. “So it’s just my left hand. That made it a lot easier.”

With the health obstacle seemingly out of the way, it’s time to figure out just how high this Celtics’ ceiling can be. If their starting five’s early chemistry is any indication, it’s going to be quite a ride.