Gordon Hayward played with new Boston Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving in an actual competitive game for all of five minutes before going down with his gruesome injury. That’s obviously not what the Celtics had in mind when they brought the two stars to play together in the offseason.
However, Hayward has been keeping a close eye on Kyrie’s game as he keeps himself checked in with the team while he remains sidelined, and has liked what he’s seen, as the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach reports. He has been especially impressed by Irving’s dexterity at the rim.
“It’s amazing how easy he makes layups look. In the fourth quarter, he’ll shoot almost all layups in the clutch. But, like, he has to go one-on-one to go past his man, then do another move to go past the help, and then shoot over a big at the rim and finish. And he makes it look like he just shot a layup.
“It’s incredible how fast he can read the defense and know what to do and finish with both hands. He spins the ball with both hands. That’s something I’ve been working on, different spins around the rim that he already has.”
Irving has had those skills in his locker for some time now, although Hayward is finally getting the chance to watch it up close on a more consistent basis. It’s those skills which have helped keep the Celtics atop the East despite Hayward’s absence.
It’ll be a few more months before Hayward can witness Irving’s incredible ability while on the court with him. Until then, he'll have to marvel from afar like the rest of us.
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