Going into the season, the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers were widely considered the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, but through the first couple of weeks of the season, neither has looked like the best squad.
That title goes to the Boston Celtics, who have rattled off seven straight wins to improve to an NBA-best 7-1 on the year. Most recently, the Celtics thumped the San Antonio Spurs in a 135-115 road victory.
But the win proved costly for Boston, as it lost star forward Gordon Hayward to a left wrist fracture.
It doesn't seem like the injury will keep Hayward out for that long. Maybe six weeks or so, so it's certainly nothing like the broken leg injury he suffered during his first season with the C's.
Plus, the injury occurred on his non-shooting hand, so Hayward shouldn't have any difficulty reintegrating himself back into the lineup when he is cleared to play again.
But it's the impact that it could have on the Celtics over the next several weeks that is significant.
Yes, Hayward will be back relatively soon, and yes, he should be just fine, but he has also arguably been Boston's best player over the first couple of weeks of the 2019-20 campaign, so you have to wonder how the C's will manage without him.
To be fair, the Celtics got along just fine sans Hayward during the second half against the Spurs, as Jaylen Brown had a monster game and youngsters like Robert Williams and Javonte Green stepped up off the bench, but that's two quarters.
Boston is not looking at 24 minutes without Hayward. It is potentially looking at two months, and while the C's certainly have enough talent to win some games during that time period, they almost definitely won't be as impressive as they have looked thus far.
The Celtics are currently at the top of the East standings, something that can come to an end very quickly with Hayward sidelined.
This isn't the Gordon Hayward of last year, the guy who was still awkwardly trying to find himself a year after essentially breaking his leg in half on national television. No; this is Utah Jazz Gordon Hayward, the guy who made the All-Star team in 2016-17.
Boston does have a lot of wing depth in guys like Jayson Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart and Green, but it's what Hayward does that will be difficult to replace.
As good as Tatum and Brown are, neither possesses the playmaking ability of Hayward, and with Hayward gone, that's one less dependable scorer the Celtics will have in key moments, and Boston doesn't have a ton of those even with Hayward (it's basically Hayward, Tatum, Brown and Kemba Walker).
Not only that, but Hayward's defensive versatility will be missed. He isn't Smart, but he has length, size, solid footspeed and veteran savvy that allows him to guard multiple positions.
Hayward was legitimately playing like a fringe MVP candidate through Boston's first eight games, and now, the C's will have to play X amount of games without him.
Make no mistake: this will be a tough pill to swallow for the Celtics.
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