One of the biggest questions facing the Boston Celtics coming into this reboot to the season was what will we see from Gordon Hayward.
Just before the season was suspended on March 12, the 30-year-old Hayward was playing some of the best basketball of his time in Boston. And two games into the reboot, Hayward’s strong play remains very much alive and well.
Jayson Tatum’s bounce-back performance in Boston’s 128-124 win over Portland along with Jaylen Brown’s dominant fourth quarter showing overshadowed in many respects what was yet another strong outing for Hayward.
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Against the Blazers, Hayward had 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. It was yet another impressive performance by Hayward, who has seemingly picked up where he left off in the first two games under the Orlando Bubble.
Since the restart of the season, Hayward has averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists with an identical 50 percent shooting from 3-point range (4-for-8) as well as from the field (12-for-24).
But he isn’t the only Celtics player putting up good numbers lately. Here’s a look at some of the Green Team standouts, by the numbers:
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5: The number of points Portland players scored when defended by Kemba Walker. More telling than the point total was the fact that those guarded by the 6-foot-1 Walker were a combined 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
7: Second-chance points scored by Enes Kanter which was instrumental in Boston taking control early in the game. Kanter has been among the NBA’s best offensive rebounders throughout most of his career, with Sunday’s performance being no exception. Kanter’s seven second-chance points nearly matched the second-chance point total (10) of the entire Blazers squad.
8: Fast-break points scored by Jaylen Brown against the Blazers as part of his 30-point game, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter. Brown’s ability to get out and finish in transition was in sharp contrast to Portland, which had a total of just six fast-break points.
15: Points scored by Boston off of screens set by Daniel Theis, who also managed to score nine points against Portland which included him making all four of his shots from the field.
55: Passes (a team-high) made by Jayson Tatum against the Blazers. In addition to scoring a game-high 34 points, Tatum also dished out eight assists which was a career-high for the third-year forward.
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