Pretty Easy Decision
News broke earlier this month that Gordon Hayward will be leaving the Orlando bubble for the birth of his fourth child in September.
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“It’s a pretty easy decision for me on that,” Hayward said when asked about his decision. “I’ve been at the birth of every one of my children, and I think there are more important things in life. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I know the NBA has a protocol for that type of thing, and hopefully, I can do the quarantining and testing the appropriate amount of time and then be back with the boys.”
The NBA has a protocol in place for players leaving the bubble. Under the league’s guidelines, Hayward would need to test negative each day he is in Indiana before returning to the bubble. Upon returning, he would have to quarantine in his hotel room for four days and produce daily negative tests over the span.
Hayward will likely leave sometime during the second round of the playoffs. (They begin on August 31.) Hayward most likely will miss between 3-5 games.
Loss Of Contributor
Losing Hayward for an extended period hinders the Celtics’ chances of advancing. He played his best basketball since becoming a member of the Celtics.
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Hayward is averaging 17.3 points per game on a career-best 50.2 percent from the field and is shooting 39.2 percent from three. He also gives the Celtics a secondary playmaker to take the pressure off of Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart by averaging 4.1 assists per game.
The Celtics are not a deep team. They only have six players that they can trust on a game-to-game basis. Losing Hayward means that Smart will likely slide into the starting lineup. That would and make a thin bench even thinner. This move will force guys to step up and produce that may not be capable or ready— players such as Brad Wanamaker, Semi Ojeleye, and rookie Romeo Langford.
The Celtics are 14-5 this season without Hayward in the lineup. However, they are just 4-3 against teams over .500 without Hayward. Hayward also has a net rating of 8.0, which is the second-highest among starters, ahead of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.
Odds Decreased Without Hayward
Losing Hayward massively decreases the odds of the Celtics getting past the Raptors in the second round or the Bucks in the conference finals. The vital point for the Celtics to weather the storm is to keep Walker or Jayson Tatum on the court at all times to sustain the offense. The bench also needs to play productive minutes. This point doesn’t mean that they need a bunch of points from the bench. They just need the reserves to play non-losing minutes.
The Celtics have battled adversity all season with injuries to key players. If Boston can stay afloat until Hayward returns, an NBA championship is more than possible. However, the Celtics will need players to step up that haven’t shown it consistently throughout the season.
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