Subscribe
Follow Us
Gordon Hayward hasn't had the best of seasons upon returning from a freak injury that caused him to miss his inaugural year with the Boston Celtics, While he's had his flashes of brilliance, he's also turned out some duds in a rollercoaster of a season that's seen no end thus far.
The 6-foot-8 forward detailed that his road from recovery has been tougher than expected, noting his day-to-day performances could vary.
“Some days are diamonds and others are stones,” said Hayward, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. “Sometimes you have a couple of stones in a row. I’ve said it after I had a good game. Try not to get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. I’ll keep working.”
Hayward has averaged an anemic 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game upon his return to the court. He's started in only 16 of his 45 appearances this season, mired in a bench role after his stint as a starter went awry to begin the 2018-19 campaign.
His minutes have been trending down since the start of the calendar year, and so have his numbers — scoring in single digits in four of his last five games and seven of his last nine.
The Celtics will need a much better Hayward if they are to make a deep postseason run this time around. The 28-year-old has only hit one of his last 11 shot attempts through the past two games, and as it looks right now, he's had way more stones than diamonds since returning from such a devastating leg injury.
