Boston Celtics carve up Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 game thoughts & observations

The aggressive Gordon Hayward

Kyrie Irving called out Gordon Hayward to be more aggressive and he certainly answered that call.

Coming off the bench, Hayward finished the game 6-of-9 from the field in a 14-point performance.  He not only made some shot from the perimeter, he drove to the hoop showing more confidence in his ability to finish and opening up plays for his teammates.

That was the kind of effort Irving was talking about and something the team overall needs from Gordon, who was playing more passive in previous games.

Though he still needs time to get back to his All-Star form physically, it is the confidence that will boost Gordon Hayward to effectively help the team in the meantime.  On Friday night, that confidence was on full display.

"“Sometimes it’s hard to be aggressive in looking for your shot if shots aren’t going in,” Hayward said following the game.  “I think the only way, though, is that you’ve got to keep shooting, you’ve got to keep attacking.  I talked [Thursday] about getting to the free-throw line more – I did it one time tonight, so that’s a start – but I think just having more of an attacking mentality helped me out.”"

That aggressiveness showed on the court and hopefully will continue going forward now that he has the confidence in his ability to attack the basket even if the shots aren’t falling.