-30 in the +/- for old Gordon last game. The question has to be asked... Is he the problem?
31 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists 1/5 shooting... Is he predictably breaking down given the increased playoff load?
Is he the problem of what? The Celtics went into Milwaukee and did what they had to do. They took a game. They won a game where, seemingly everybody played well and they lost a game where, seemingly everybody played poorly.
Hayward was part of the reason we lost but so was:
Kyrie: 4-18 for 9 points
Tatum: 2-10 for 5 points
Rozier: 2-10 for 5 points
Whole team: Only 17 assists with 13 turnovers
Whole team: horrible perimeter defense giving up tons of uncontested threes
Whole team: gave up 123 points
The Celtics loss game 2 because collectively, as a team, they pretty much all sucked real bad.
Yep, they sucked as a team and they couldn't stop a 28-2 run that basically ended the game in the 3rd quarter. I can't imagine they will shoot that bad again. They just stopped looking for good shots and settled for any shot. Milwaukee shot terrible in Game 1 and turned it around in Game 2.
Gordon definitely went into his shell a little as the game went on, maybe because Kyrie was pressing too much looking for his shot, he was relegated to the corner for the most part.
Yeah, the Celtics lost as a team. It's not on Hayward, alone.
Hayward sucking is on Hayward, though. This is why I always push back every time he has 3 good games in a row and someone proclaims he's Utah Gordon again. He might never be that way and if he ever is, it won't be until next year.
It's also why I'm careful to make a determination that Gordon is back on the basis of how many points he scores. Obviously the point of basketball is to score points, but with the way our team is I'm more interested in how he plays - is he being aggressive? Is he looking to attack the paint? Is he trying to get the best shot for the team, not just his shot? Is he trying to draw contact? Is he connected and talkative on defense?
For the most part since the All Star break he's been doing all that, whether he scores 10 points or 20 or 30. The other night though he didn't attack the paint much:
His usage rate was below 10%, meaning 1 in 10 plays were run for him when he was on the floor. 10%? He had a lower usage rate than anyone else on the team.
And look at his touches, he had 33 touches which is less than Mook, Jaylen or Jayson who played less minutes than he did (Rozier had more as well but as a point guard you expect him to have more). We need more than 33 touches from Gordon to beat the Bucks.
Compare this with Game 1 where he had 45 touches, 3rd most on the team:
This is always a difficult one to interpret, you need to watch the games and look at how the team is playing. Were they passing the ball to Gordon more in Game 1? Was he demanding it? Was Kyrie feeling more pressure to shoot the ball because he wasn't shooting well? Kyrie's usage rate was 28% which is around where it's been all season for him though. Gordon played more minutes in Game 2, did his minutes overlap with Kyrie and Terry too much?
I suspect the answer is all of the above. I'm sure when they look at film they will figure it out. But whatever it is, they need to get him more involved so that he can influence the game better.
Topic: is Hayward our secret weapon in the playoffs? (Read 13053 times)