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Boston Celtics: 3 ways Gordon Hayward inspired the 2017-18 season

By Tarringo Basile-vaughan

BOSTON, MA - MAY 27: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics looks on prior to Game Seven of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on May 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 27: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics looks on prior to Game Seven of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on May 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Strength leads to resilience

 The one word that defined the 2017-18 Boston Celtics was resilience.  The way the team battled back and didn’t give up on the season following Gordon Hayward’s injury was the main ingredient to a successful season.

Glancing back at that night, we should’ve all known better.  From the horror on Jaylen Brown’s face to the way Al Horford huddled everyone together while Hayward was sitting on the court with his foot turned the wrong way shown a new team bonding together before our very eyes.

That same night, the Celtics battled back down double digits against the Cleveland Cavaliers to nearly pullout an improbable comeback win.

They were supposed to be out of it, so decimated by the Hayward injury that they would in no way even reach .500.  But, they took the injury as motivation, which fueled an early season 16-game winning streak. The team also heard what all the pundits and analysts were saying following the loss of Gordon Hayward.

Yes, they took it personally because there was still a lot of talent remaining on the team, including five-time All-Star Kyrie Irving who explained how the injury impacted the young Boston Celtics.

"“Gordon’s a huge piece, and when you lose him, I think all hell broke loose a little bit, like, ‘What are they going to look like?’,” Irving said back in March, via Adam Himmelsbach.  “And a lot of guys took that personal, and they wanted to come out and prove something.”"

They proved a lot of people wrong during their journey to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  Even with eventually losing Irving, the team believed because they saw how Gordon Hayward battled back in his rebab and believed in his personal comeback.

The strength he showed by just being positive throughout his rehab seemed to parallel on a team that continuously battled back when the rest of the NBA world felt they were too wounded.

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