Even if he’s currently sidelined and recovering from the gruesome ankle injury he suffered on opening night, Gordon Hayward still remains active around basketball. He was seen taking some shots last month while sitting down, and was also tasked by the Boston Celtics to be part of their film team.
In an interview with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, he proved that he can also be the team’s scout, as he gave a scouting report for his teammates, based on their performances so far this season. That includes one on Jayson Tatum, who he is very impressed with, especially with how he has been shooting the ball, and his polished overall game.
“He’s shooting the [expletive] out of the ball. You’re just surprised if he misses right now. But the hardest thing as a rookie is to sustain that. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it up.
“Definitely one of the most polished rookies offensively that’s come in the league in a while. He can do everything. I don’t think there’s a part of his game that you think is a huge weakness. He can post, he can come off screens, he can come off pick-and-rolls, he cuts well, he finishes well, goes one-on-one well. Definitely impressive.”
Hayward’s high praise definitely says a lot about how promising the rookie out of Duke has been for the C’s. He has also given them a lot of versatility, as he can play both forward positions, which is a big asset to have for any team. Through 29 games, he is averaging solid numbers of 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 30.6 minutes per game.
If he continues playing at a high level as the season progresses, Tatum will be able to establish himself as a future star in the league. More importantly, he will make it easier for the Celtics to contend for the title, and could be relied upon even more to be a solid contributor for them night in and night out.
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