SALT LAKE CITY — A candid shot of Boston’s bench said everything as the seconds melted away. Pending free agent Kyrie Irving sat in stony silence. Also on the TV screen, in a minor role, was Gordon Hayward — who is becoming accustomed to that part.
Boston left the season like Confederates leaving Vicksburg in 1863, heads bowed in defeat. Vicksburg didn’t celebrate the Fourth of July for the next 81 years.
It might be that long before Hayward celebrates July 4, 2017.
That was the day he left the Jazz.
He scored an uninspired seven points, none in the second half of Boston’s 116-91 season-ending loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday. If Hayward has shown anything in his nine-year NBA career, it’s that he’s not yet a premier player.
Whether by injury or simply by nature, Hayward has likely seen his last All-Star game. His reasons for stalling in Boston are several. He had a gruesome leg injury 1½ years ago that cost him a full season. Also, he is playing with bigger stars in Boston than he did in Utah. It takes time to learn a new system.
But in this year’s playoffs he was Gordon Vacay-ward — absent for the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have exited a season they were supposed to dominate. Milwaukee brushed them away like dandruff. In Hayward’s final four playoff games he scored 5, 10, 2 and 7 points. That’s the Hayward Utahns watched throughout the early part of his career: not all that tough when it mattered.
It’s not entirely his fault in Boston, because he’s not a big part of the offense. But he made just 7 of 27 shots in his last four playoff games. One of his attempts on Wednesday was a cringe-worthy air ball on a barely contested fade.
Over time, Hayward became the Jazz’s focal point, which is why the team tried so hard to retain him. He even reached All-Star status. But he never seemed comfortable carrying the weight.
Playing in Boston with Irving, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, etc., seemed a good fit. He could blend into the scenery and quietly compile numbers. His chances to win a championship appeared to improve.
Then came the injury at the start of the 2017-18 season, and a year off for rehab. Coach Brad Stevens started him out with limited minutes this year, to get him back into shape, but seven months later, he still looks like a guy coming off an injury. He started his first 15 games before settling into reserve status.
It’s possible Hayward’s head, not his ankle, is what’s holding him back. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith declared him too slow to stay up with the Bucks in this year’s playoff series, won 4-1 by Milwaukee.
If it seems harsh to judge Hayward after a serious injury, remember, he was the fifth-highest paid player in the league this year, and it has been 19 months since his initial surgery. Money doesn’t heal injuries, but even Boston can’t afford that kind of return. He did have good nights this year, like the 30-point flurry against Golden State and the 35 against Minnesota. But for a $30 million player, 11.5 points a game (9.6 in the playoffs) isn’t enough.
Stevens has expressed confidence Hayward can do everything he could before his injury. Hayward downplays these things, saying he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself.
“Don’t get too high on the highs, too low on the lows,” he told the media this week, “and try to stay even keel through the whole thing.”
If he were any more even he’d be asleep.
The best thing for Hayward would be to get his pulse up and his emotions on the surface. That seldom occurs. Playing it cool works best only if you have James Harden skills.
Hayward is no Harden.
Boston would settle for a poor man’s Larry Bird.