Gordon Hayward's Return Comes Just in Time

With Hayward back in the lineup, Boston has renewed hope to knot the series.

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals was playing out similarly to the previous two. The Boston Celtics came out with a torrential downpour of buckets to open up a double-digit lead on the Miami Heat.

Miami boasts one of the most flexible lineups in the league, causing a litany of matchup nightmares for opponents. But Boston’s roster has, perhaps, the most dynamic antidote to counteract this pliability and it has materialized in hot starts.

In the first two games, though, when the Heat snatched victory out of the Celtics’ breadbasket to go up 2-0, Boston simply did not have the timely scoring or lockdown defensive rotations to maintain leads.

Facing a potential 3-0 series hole, the Celtics flipped the script by adding in a familiar character. No, that was not a barista, a Turning Point USA organizer, or a 1920s carnival barker, though I would not fault you for thinking that. A mustachioed, always-coiffed Gordon Hayward returned to Boston’s lineup for the first time since hurting his ankle in the first game of the playoffs, and helped lift his team to a 117-106 win to bring the series to 2-1.

Hayward registered 31 minutes despite admitting he was still not feeling 100 percent. The 6-foot-7 Hayward looked noticeably gassed after his first rotation, but still found the mettle to put up starter minutes.

He didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet either, recording just six points, five rebounds, four assists, as well as a block and three steals. Numbers that aren’t eye-popping, but emblematic of the all-encompassing playmaking that was absent for almost a month. The Celtics should thank his wife, Robyn, who is expecting a child any day and allowed her husband to remain in the bubble.

Hayward’s presence sealed up defensive holes that Miami was exploiting. One common situation stands out — Miami using Bam Adebayo to pick-and-roll behind the arc to goad a switch against Kemba Walker. From there, Adebayo can take off or use his passing chops as he drives to expose other matchups. It’s caused Jae Crowder to feast off of 3-pointers and dribble hand-offs to Duncan Robinson, or it’s caused secondary down screens that Boston can’t switch properly, leaving the paint open.

Hayward is one of the Celtics more cerebral players, and although not a bulwark defender, he has the foresight to prevent these lapses. He cut off corner threes by interrupting telegraphed passes along the baselines. He can pick up switches on nearly anyone in the Miami lineup, from Adebayo to Jimmy Butler. And he has the height and vertical to prohibit drivers from waltzing into the paint for an easy basket.

Offensively, Hayward’s impact is especially pronounced. Without his scoring presence on the wings, Marcus Smart took it upon himself to makeup the scoring by impersonating Steph Curry, with 63% of his shots from three. In game 3, Smart only took two threes and garnered 10 free throws.

Hayward shot just 2-for-7, but his presence alone was enough to space the floor. He can effectively drive and kick or take it to the hole. Even when Hayward is ineffective, inserting him in the lineup can give rest to Boston’s other premier wings. What team has enough defenders for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Walker, AND Hayward?

Among 10 Celtics playoff lineups that have played 15 or more minutes (again, this was just Hayward’s second playoff game), the one featuring Hayward-Walker-Tatum-Brown-Daniel Theis was second in offensive efficiency and fifth in defensive efficiency. A fun variant of this lineup — swapping Theis with Smart — outscored Miami, 18-12, in the 12 possessions it played last game.

It’s no surprise that the addition of Gordon Hayward makes this series strikingly more competitive, so much so that a 2-0 deficit looks surmountable. Yes, Boston is still down in the series and the Heat should rightfully remain the favorites to make it to the Finals. But the second-half Celtics looked tranquilized in the series’ beginning. Yelling and arguing was reportedly coming from a disgruntled Boston locker room following a game 2 defeat. Now, a comeback and a trip to the Finals seems less like a wish and more like a real possibility with Hayward back.

Or maybe it was the yelling.