Gordon Hayward injured his ankle just minutes into the first game for the Celtics, and there are a lot of people shrieking that they are going to be dead in the water without him. There are a lot of people who are happy to see the Celtics suffer because they got rid of Isaiah Thomas, and there are more people who wanted to see the Cavaliers have a chance to get back to the Finals. I think that the Celtics can come back from this, but this is a very bad omen for a team that gave up so much to have this season.
Why now?
Is this bad luck for the Celtics, or is.
This just what happens when you send a guy out there to save the team in the first game? Maybe Hayward was eager to make the team as competitive as possible, or maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong? The Celtics need to make sure that they are very careful with Hayward and realize that they can wait all season for things to be right. This team can improve a lot over the course of the season, and they can plan to be patient because it is a waste of time to throw Hayward on the floor and think that it will work out right now. They are not even going to win a title this year, and they need to be as careful as possible.
Can Brad Stevens make this change?
Brad Stevens can change the way that the team is managed, and he can adjust how Hayward is used on the floor.
However, he really just has to think about what can be done to make the team much more efficient. They need to have Kyrie Irving doing most of the heavy lifting so that Hayward can recover. This is also the chance for Irving to show that he can run a team all by himself. Someone who loves the Celtics might find out that they have a superstar running the team with another superstar sitting on the bench and recovering.
What about the rest of the roster?
The rest of the roster for the Celtics needs to be given some time to gel, and make sure that they know how to play as a unit. If you are afraid of the roster not playing well together, then you have been given a gift because you have to force these guys to play together so that they can be ready for Hayward to come back.
The Celtics might be able to work out how they will play their game if they have to wait for a while for Hayward to recover. They could keep him out for a month, and it might be much better for the team to do that than to see if they can win 73 games.
Gordon Hayward's injury is not the end of the world, but it is a problem that the Celtics have to use to their advantage going forward.
