Are you a little concerned about Kemba Walker? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. While hoping very much not to be worried, when the missed games start to pile up and the word "knee" is involved, it gets my attention. Credit the Celtics who have won three of the last four games without their aforementioned All-Star point guard and gave birth to the newest NBA superstar in the process.
The Celtics are manning up with Walker in street clothes and are being led by man-child Jayson Tatum, who's playing at an All-World level. However, the depth is looking pretty thin as the calendar turns to March, just when things really heat up in the NBA for the true contenders. The Celtics are a real contender but to put themselves in the best position during the postseason, a Walker-less Celtics team will need help from more areas and I'm looking squarely at Gordon Hayward to step up his game.
It's time.
Hayward has certainly shown signs and in fairness, has made an impact on a decent amount of games throughout the season. However, to date the impactful moments from Hayward in a Celtics uniform have been fleeting. Now you see them and now you don't. The MVP level performances from Jayson Tatum over the last three weeks along with the steady and often time's brilliant play of All-Star snub Jalen Brown, have overshadowed Hayward's inconsistencies as well as his key role.
Here comes a month featuring 15 games in 29 days.
Regardless if Tatum can continue his torrid pace, the Celtics will inevitably need more help than No. 0 can provide night after night. I trust Tatum. I trust Brown. I trust Marcus Smart. Even Daniel Theis has stepped up and over-delivered in Walker's absence, but what about Hayward?
Right now when I think of Gordon Hayward he reminds me of J.D. Drew.
Statistically, Gordon is perfectly okay this season, averaging 17.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Good for a ranking of 56th, 39thand 49thin the league respectively. Not spectacular but pretty good, especially where he's settled in as the team's fourth offensive option. With Walker out now however and with no firm timetable for return, I think the Celtics will need more of what he can do, versus what we have been getting used to.
More on the comparison with J.D. Drew.
With Drew, it was a lot of money and even more waiting. The waiting was hard. Fans were far less patient than Drew was at the plate. He was so patient with a bat in his hands that it drove people crazy as they watched perfectly hittable strikes breeze by. Like Hayward, the production was consistently inconsistent. Statistically, Drew was exactly okay, delivering a steady yet unspectacular .271 average and an average of 19 home runs in the four seasons where he had over 350 at-bats with the Red Sox. However, with Drew, you always wanted and expected more.
Then one night the payoff finally came and it came LOUDLY. One giant moment in Game 6 of the 2007 ALCS and BOOM!
In one swing of the bat, Drew silenced his critics and at a minimum put a permanent "yeah but" at the end of any of his critics future rants.
Perhaps Hayward's moment or moments are still ahead of him. With the uncertainty surrounding Walker's knee, I'd submit that right now would be an ideal time for Hayward to start building his resume. The time to do it is when your team needs it most and with the Celtics running a little undermanned at this key time of the season, I'd say it's time for Hayward to channel his inner J.D. Drew.
The October 20th, 2007 version that is.
