The regular season is over and the NBA playoffs are among us, meaning everyone has a clean slate.
Arguably no other team needs that clean slate more than the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics entered the season with sky-high expectations, but struggled to live up to them. That ultimately resulted in them landing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, where they’ll take on the Indiana Pacers in the first round beginning Sunday.
While the collective goal for each team obviously is to win the championship, each player has their own personal goals, as well.
And in a post on his blog Friday, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward — who seems to be hitting his stride after suffering a season-ending injury on Opening Night 2017 — shared his.
“As for the postseason, what I expect from myself is to continue to make winning plays for our team,” Hayward wrote. “And I think that can mean a lot of different things. Throughout this year, I’ve tried to avoid the stat sheets, good and bad. I’m not focused on having high numbers, because with how our team is set up, it’s not always going to be the case that I get those numbers.
“But I can certainly always make winning plays. That’s being in the right spot defensively, making the right plays on the offensive end, even if it’s the hockey assist or creating the right spacing so somebody else can attack and get to the rim without my defender being able to come help. Those things don’t necessarily always show up, but they help your team win and that’s what I expect of myself. I’m going to stay aggressive, get in the lane and get to the rim, make plays happen and try to get to the line, but ultimately, it’s about making the winning plays.”
The Celtics clearly are a better team when Hayward is at his best, so him achieving that goal would be nothing but good news for Boston.
