I thought the reports weren't that LeBron coming to town cause Hayward to not happen, but the subsequent Love trade.
Hayward signed his Hornets offer sheet in early July, 2014 which was matched by Utah. LeBron didn't officially sign with Cleveland until early/mid-August, a full month later, and the Cavs needed the full max to acquire him.
I think what will separate Hayward from JT and JB at the start of the season is how well he will play with Al and Kyrie, in various 2-player sets. Kyrie and Al would regularly put on clinics in that regard when they were both healthy. And from the highlights clip from the preseason that someone posted upthread, there will be a lot of that when there are 3 such possible pairings. Now I hope that as the year progresses, JB and JT will learn a lot watching (and listening) to these 3, but especially to Hayward who essentially plays the same position (wing) whereas Al and Kyrie don't.
Don’t get me wrong, Horford and Brown are great players, Horford is the classic third member of a big 3, the guy that scores the points the other two don’t. Brown projects to a secondary scorer, an effective scorer whose offense comes from the attention the primary scorer gets (and there’s nothing wrong with this, Kevin Garnett was a secondary scorer, albeit one of the best in league history). Tatum’s a on a different level, he’s a pure alpha scorer on a team that already has two of those guys. How do you stop someone like that when you already have to stop Kyrie and Gordo?
Yes I remember there was an annoucement prior to the "official" signing but the point remains......Cleveland couldn't sign both Hayward and LeBron under the salary cap.
It's coming... Tomer Azarly @TomerAzarly 3h3 hours ago Gordon Hayward said via his Twitch stream of Fortnite that he plans to return to Boston in September in time for #Celtics training camp. Tomer Azarly @TomerAzarly Gordon Hayward says he also went 1-on-1 for the first time today. Said it wasn't a typical 1-on-1, it was more like a drill, but he dunked for the first time off the left foot. #Celtics #Boston
According to yahoo article (no link sorry), the Celtics sent a trainer out to work with Hayward last week and reported back that he looked great.
He looks pretty good at whatever you call this. Swipe or click to the right to see the second half with the nifty behind the back recovery:
Hard to tell for sure given angle and length of clip but sure looks like there's a lot more range of motion in his right ankle. Probably to be expected.
In the 1st video, I would agree. Appears that he isn't being pushed to extend his left leg way out to get the ball. 2nd video though, that does not seem to to be an issue.
At least he seems to have a sense of humor over all this, the chant would be hilarious. https://nesn.com/2018/08/heres-what...celtics-fans-to-chant-in-upcoming-season/amp/
This would instantly be near the top of memmorable things in Boston sports history if the Cs won a championship chanting that at opponents. The slightly creepy angle definitely helps. Edit, just figured out a rhythm: DA dy's AL ways *clap* H *clap* A *fast clap* P *fast clap* P *clap* Y
This video would work for us on many levels--need to listen to the pre-song chatter: Game so fucking on.
Didn't C's fans essentially already do this when Delonte West played in Boston the second time around?
He's been pretty jacked for a few years now — I seem to recall some eye-popping before/after shots from a few years back. Probably a good thing given that he's now the de facto 4 in the Cs' optimal lineup. He's gonna need that strength for banging with Draymond and Jordan Bell in the finals.
Fully operation battle station, indeed: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...hayward-boston-celtics-ready-go-training-camp
Nearly posted something very similar. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a basketball season. Not even '08.
Absolutely insane how talented the starting 5 will be, but also how deep they can run. They should steam roll the regular season.
And playing a really exciting brand of basketball, coached by a genius. Oh and they will absolutely bring it at both ends of the court. I’m willing to be patient only because I’m also glad for every week they have to rehab.
Has Gordon signed a new shoe deal yet? The trolls are out on Twitter about him speaking out agains Nike for the Kapernik Ad. 1-please don’t let this be true 2-sign with Nike, Gordon. Like now. 3-new balances stink
Twitter. Where nothing is correct, I just saw it from a retweet. Fake news. But I also haven’t seen if he has signed a new shoe deal or not.
As I find myself scrutinizing Gordo's chest and shoes for evidence of an eccentrically bent line, I can't help but think: Holy fuck are the guys at Nike smart.
"Gordon came to us after signing with the Celtics. He wanted a sneaker that would help him break ankles. Mission accomplished."
Yes, lots of Hayward takes today, all positive... Boston CelticsVerified account @celtics 1h1 hour ago He's back! @gordonhayward reveals that he's been playing 5-on-5, and gives a look into the darker moments of his rehab. https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/si...als-hes-returned-to-5-on-5-play?sf197620108=1
It still hasn’t really registered yet that we’re replacing a bunch of bad-player minutes with Gordon Hayward. Instead of saying things like “I know he missed all five attempts but Semi’s shot actually looked a little better tonight”, I’ll be saying things like “Maybe you should stop leaving Gordon Hayward wide open oh wait you can’t because everyone else on the floor is also a knockdown shooter and all-around stud.”
Our roster improvements are real and they’re spectacular! The starting lineup may dissect teams like the 1986 Celtics or 2014 Spurs. And then after getting thoroughly humiliated, teams will sub in their 2nd unit scrubs while we hit them with a 2nd wave of Rozier/Smart/Semi/Morris/Theis/Baynes. Good luck, Eastern Conference.
Seriously, it's going to be like the 2018 Raptors, only the starting lineup is full of all stars that won't have to kill themselves because Boston will be rolling out a respectable starting lineup as their bench.
I think this is a bit over the top. Even assuming that Baynes starts and one of Tatum/Brown are on the bench... Rozier, Smart, Brown/Tatum, Morris, Theis - would be a bottom 5 starting lineup
It’s not as OTT as you seem to think. Rozier, Smart, Morris, Theis, and Baynes all rate out as either average or above average NBA players. It would not be a bottom five starting lineup. Especially with the defensive chops.
wouldn't you have Baynes starting alongside Horford, with either Brown or Tatum coming off the bench to lead the 2nd unit? But in general, yeah.
They might rate out as average NBA players but the average NBA player is Brandon Bass. A team of 5 Brandon Bass's is a bottom 5 team. Like, 4 of those guys could start on any given team and if Rozier, Smart, Morris or Baynes was your 5th best player, you'd be fine. If one of those 4 was your best player, you have some serious problems.
Baynes will start against the occasional behemoth, but the NBA’s been moving away from those guys. Horford is going to be Boston’s primary center.
Let's do the math. If we are including one of Tatum or Brown, then I think the bench is clearly better than the likely starting line up for the: Hawks: Lin, Bazemore, Prince, Collins and Dedmon Kings: Fox, Heild, ?, Bagley, Cauley-Stein Suns: ?, Booker, Jackson, Ariza, Ayton. Magic: Augustin, Fournier?, Ross?, Gordon, Vuc?. Knicks (at least until the Unicorn is healthy): Burke?, Frank, Hardaway, Knox?, Kanter? That's five. I think you can have a legitimate argument about Charlotte, the Bulls, the Nets and Cleveland.
Agreed. I figure Baynes starts 20 games. He'll be no better than 8th in MPG, with the top five, Smart, and Rozier getting more minutes barring injuries or trade. Likely Morris as well. Baynes starts the Philly games and some others against similar beef.
Would you rather start Baynes and be underhanded against most teams or start Tatum and have an unguardable starting 5?