The Boston Celtics of this year, have been underperforming, to say the least. After LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers last year to go and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, there was a sense of relief for teams from the Eastern Conference, since he had been into 8 straight NBA Finals, and he made all those appearances while wearing a jersey of an Eastern Conference team. Last year, during the regular season they had 55 wins and 27 losses, ranking them 2nd in the Conference. When the playoffs came they played like a 2nd seed should, in the 1st round they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4 – 3 and in the Conference Semifinals, they annihilated the Philadelphia 76ers 4 – 1. They were facing LeBron James and his Cavaliers on the Conference Finals, without Gordon Hayward who had a gut-wrenching injury at the beginning of the season.
The funny thing about this series was that, they managed to get so far in the playoffs race without Hayward and they were leading 2 – 0, and then again 3 – 2, only to lose 4 – 3, behind the monstrous performances of LeBron James, whom singlehandedly put his team on the back and carried them, to yet another NBA Finals. From what has been said here so far, you can see that a squad without Gordon Hayward who was expected to flourish with the Celtics managed to almost to reach the NBA Finals, this season have a record of 13 wins and 10 losses. While as of this moment, they are on a three-game winning streak, it’s still only three games away from .500 record. They have the 6th best record in the Eastern Conference, behind teams like Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, teams that ironically, they defeated last year, without one of their best players, Gordon Hayward. So, what is the problem with the team that was touted to be the next Eastern Conference dynasty?
Well Terry Rozier, sort of gave an answer for this. While speaking with The Athletic’s Jay King, he said that it’s tough playing on a crowded roster this year; “it’s definitely tough. Some guys have more leeway than other, and that’s just what it is. That’s on a lot of teams.” In other words, he said that the organization has been picking sides, and when you have a player like Kyrie Irving on the team, of course, that you will remain his back-up. This may be one reason as to why the team is underperforming so far, but it is not the only reason.
When Gordon Hayward joined the famed franchise, the expectations were quite high from everyone, and rightfully so. He was the leader of Utah Jazz, a reliable scorer that had the talent and the skill to lead a team to new heights. When you add the pedigree of Kyrie Irving and the solid game of Al Horford, you have the instant recipe for success, but that’s not how it went down. After missing the first season with the Celtics due to a gruesome injury, the 2018-19 season was expected to be his time to shine again. He is playing an average of 26.8 minutes per game while scoring a career low of only 11.2 points per game, that’s including his rookie season. As a comparison, he averaged 21.9 points per game in his last season with the Utah Jazz, while shooting 47% from the field and almost 40% from the 3-point line, while this season he is only shooting 42% from the field and 32% from the 3-point line.
Hayward has admitted this himself, on an interview that he did with the Boston Globe he said; “I think there are times I feel good out there on the court,”
He continued saying that there are also other times when he feels like he is “just floating out there.”
One of the best players of your squad is having problems readjusting, and he doesn’t have enough minutes to find back his form, because the emergence of Jayson Tatum last year, has made him a fan favorite and also, he has shown that he has what it takes to perform at a high level. He proved that last year when he wasn’t afraid to go toe to toe with the best. On the other hand, you also have players that are frustrated that they won’t get more minutes. That is a recipe for disaster. Brad Stevens is having plenty of headaches, finding the winning formula and also keeping his players happy. But not everything is doom and gloom, as I mentioned earlier, they are on a three-game winning streak and maybe that will translate into more confidence and they will regain the lost ground from last year, if they play like last year, and Gordon Hayward gets back on his level, they have the potential to dethrone the Golden State Warriors.
