Boston Celtics 2017 player preview and predictions: Gordon Hayward

Gordon Hayward, the Butler alum and former member of the Jazz, will be starting a new chapter in what has been a great career in a Boston Celtics uniform.

This has every Boston Celtics fan ecstatic.  Gordon Hayward has been a name that has been on the whole city’s wishlist since KD chose to take his talents to the Bay Area.

Now that he is here, we can collectively mark off dates on our calendar until opening night.

Roll the tape!

Coming off of a tremendous season, Hayward is ready to help bring this young team to the championship. Hayward will have a lot of adjusting to do. He will need to adapt to not touching the ball as much, as ball-dominant guard Isaiah Thomas will be handling the rock for the majority of the C’s possessions.

Catch and shoot opportunities will be where the new Celtic should look to score. He can penetrate, which backs up the idea for a dribble drive offense I have talked about in past articles.

Gordon Hayward had great numbers last season. He averaged 21.9 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per game.

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This will help Boston improve their rebounding numbers as a team. Gordon could average almost 30 points if he wanted, but he plays a very unselfish game. That’s a big reason why the team pursued him as much as they did.

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This year, Hayward doesn’t need to put up more than 25 points per game. If he were to go to Miami or stay in Utah, he would be expected to put up more than 27 or so. With Boston, they already have a strong offense without their biggest acquisition. Hayward is there to give Boston more options. More options equals a more efficient offense, which in turn will bring higher percentages.

The Prediction

Boston has two superstars in Isaiah Thomas and Gordon Hayward. I predict a Kobe and Shaq type of duo, two dangerous scorers trading monster performances.

I could see Hayward averaging about 24 points per game, 4 rebounds per game, and roughly 3 assists per game. These numbers combined with the 23 points per game I expect IT to average will be dangerous.

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This will be an exciting first year for Gordon Hayward as a Celtic.