2018-19 STATS
11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists. 46.6 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 109.8 Offensive Rating
This was supposed to be the comeback season for Gordon Hayward after missing all but the first five minutes of the 2017-2018 season with an ankle/leg injury. His season was one of both highs and lows, with the latter being more prevalent in the playoffs with his numbers down across the board relative to what he did during the regular season.
ROOM FOR GROWTH CHECKLIST
1. Consistency: There were just too many games, even after his health was no longer an issue, when he would be just out there providing little at either end of the floor. He’s too talented and too important to this team to have too many games like that going forward.
2. Aggressiveness: Part of Hayward’s struggles this past season had to do with him not attacking the ball more, at both ends of the floor. He’s a much better two-way player than what we saw this past season.
Boston Celtics
3. Focus: Hayward will have a normal offseason where the focus will be on improvement and not just simply getting on the floor, which was the case last summer. With that uncertainty behind him now, look for Hayward to lock in on what he has to do this offseason to improve to where he’s closer to being the All-Star player he was prior to arriving in Boston.
HIS FUTURE
Hayward just completed the second year of the four-year, $127.8 million contract he signed in 2017. And while the first two years have not gone the way Hayward or the Celtics want, there’s no urgency on Boston’s part to trade him and he seems genuinely happy to be a Celtic. Plus, finding a taker for the remaining $66.8 million he’s owed seems unlikely. That said, all signs — for now at least — point towards Hayward being back in the fold as a Celtic next season.
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