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When All-Star Gordon Hayward was injured within the first five minutes of the NBA season, everybody counted out the Boston Celtics.
But Hayward's injury only made the Celtics play like they are on a mission to prove everyone wrong. In this mission, Jayson Tatum, the team's No. 3 overall pick in the last draft, had to grow the fastest.
Tatum said that Hayward's injury, though unfortunate, has given him an opportunity to fast-track his development. He said the following in an interview with Basketball Insiders:
“It just gave me more of an opportunity that I wouldn't have had. It's definitely unfortunate that it had to come the way it did with one of our best players getting hurt, but we've all just had to contribute more, step up more losing him on the first night. We had 81 more games left, so we couldn't make excuses for that.”
And the 19-year-old rookie didn't disappoint. He is averaging 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Celtics. He even has the privilege of being a starter on the fairly deep team.
Everything is good so far. The Celtics are 34-11 and currently enjoying being the top seed in the East. After everybody counted them out when they lost Hayward, it's a truly incredible achievement.
The East isn't lackluster as well. There is the consistent threat of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and the surging Miami Heat — all have a chip on their shoulder and would like to take the Celtics' place.
The Celtics will need everything they have to compete, and Tatum looks like he is up for the challenge.
