Subscribe
Follow Us
Boston Celtics swingman Gordon Hayward is set to make his highly anticipated return to his former stomping grounds when the Celtics visit the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey brought forth a very interesting metaphor on how he thinks the situation is going be like on Hayward's return to Utah.
Speaking to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Lindsey compared Hayward's homecoming to a very awkward prom scenario:
“Here's the analogy: The country singer Sam Hunt has a song, ‘Break up in a small town,'” Lindsey said. “We're both showing up to the prom with another date. We're all doing well, but we're standing around the punch bowl sort of awkwardly looking at each other.”
Albeit a bit peculiar, that's actually an excellent analogy. Lindsey hit the nail on the head here and pretty much summed up the type of awkwardness that's going to be in the air on Friday night.
Article Continues Below
Hayward missed basically the entirety of last season due to gruesome leg injury, so this will be his first trip back to the city where he spent the first seven years of his career prior to making the big move to Boston in 2017. Now, Hayward finds himself on one of the most talented teams in the league and one of the favorites to top the entire Eastern Conference.
As Lindsey so aptly put it, things have also been great for the Jazz since the divorce. After moving on from Hayward as their cornerstone star, the team was the surprise package of last season, going all the way to the second round of the playoffs in a highly competitive Western Conference. This is thanks in large part to rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell, who may have not had the breakout year he had last season had Hayward still been around.
The Jazz are in a bit of a funk right now, losing four of their last five games. A win against one of this season's front-runners would surely provide a big boost, so expect Utah to come out firing on all cylinders.
