Gordon Hayward excited playing in front of C's faithful again
October 2nd of 2017 was the last time Gordon Hayward donned a Celtics jersey in TD Garden.
That was the last time C's fans saw Hayward on the parquet.
Two days shy of a year later, Gordon's back, and he's excited about it:
Gordon Hayward: "It was great being in front of our own fans for the first time. That was a special feeling for me. Obviously still have a lot of improve on. I think rust is there, for sure, for me. But it was Game 2 after not playing for a year, so it’ll come back."— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 1, 2018
The rust is understandable. This is the second time Hayward's been in a competitive game since October 17th of last year. That naturally explains his 1-for-7 shooting and meager 4 points.
But, the former All-Star showed flashes of why he was the Celtics coveted free agent a year ago. That was highlighted by an impressive chase-down block:
.@gordonhayward said "NOT TODAY" 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/RDYlwG1RC1— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) September 30, 2018
...and lowlighted by the 5 fouls the swingman racked up during his 21 minutes. Here's what Stevens had to say about that:
Coach Stevens on Hayward: "There was a small part of me that was hoping he'd foul out in the first half. I thought that would have been funny." 🤦♀️😂 #DadStevens pic.twitter.com/IKv80Z9XNL— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 1, 2018
Hayward and the Celtics take on the Cavaliers in Boston on Tuesday night. We'll see if Hayward plays and if he can find his shot before the regular season starts up in the middle of October.
Follow Topher Lane on Twitter, @Topher_L. Photo credit: Brain Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images.
