If we’re ever to see the Gordon Hayward of old, it probably won’t be until next season, at the earliest.
But as the playoffs near, the Boston Celtics forward is playing his best basketball of the season.
Hayward began Boston’s four-game West Coast road trip with 30 points in a blowout in over the Golden State Warriors, and followed it up with 12 points and a game-winning shot against the Sacramento Kings. He looked comfortable again Saturday night, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the Celtics’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hayward’s season has felt like a roller coaster from the beginning. For every strong game, their are two ugly performances. However, the truth is that Hayward steadily has improved as the season has progressed.
Gordon Hayward shooting percentage…
December: 37.0%
January: 46.5%
February: 51.3%
March (entering tonight): 60.0%He has 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting tonight.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 10, 2019
He’s taken his game to another level in California, though.
Over his last three games, Gordon Hayward has averaged 19.0 points on 70.6% shooting (5-12 3-PT)
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) March 10, 2019
Again, Hayward is far from being the same player he was with the Utah Jazz. He’s not nearly as explosive when driving to the basket, and his defense ranges from poor to just OK.
But if he can continue giving the Celtics performances like he gave Saturday night, he could be a major factor come playoff time.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Lakers:
— It’s been a historic West Coast trip, as a matter of fact.
If the @celtics beat the @Lakers tonight, it would be the third time in team history, and the first time in more than 50 years, that they won three straight games, all in California! They last that in February 1966 with two wins vs. the Lakers and one vs. the Warriors.
— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) March 9, 2019
— Here’s the highly anticipated embrace between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James:
Nothing but love between LeBron and Kyrie. pic.twitter.com/ciYzLiCxwj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2019
— James finished with a ho-hum triple double (30 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds), while Irving finished with 30 points, five dimes and seven boards.
— Marcus Smart continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc, knocking down four of six 3-point attempts while pouring in 16 points.
