Hayward has been "working out vigorously. Looks stronger, faster, leaner"

[gouki88]

Ah yes, it's "Player X looks great, he's in the best shape, he's going to be really good next year" season.

Don't act like this has happened before!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EnwY0IdOxo

It must be hard having your life revolve around Gordon Hayward

[keevsnick]

Ah yes the old Veteran in the best shape of his life article. Right on schedule. Roster is just about filled out and now we need to be reminded that hayward will be a factor. It feels like we had like 3 of these last year, remember how he was gonna be a playoff x factor? Maybe he is back, but I'm gonna wait and see.

[Greengang5]

Ah yes the old Veteran in the best shape of his life article. Right on schedule. Roster is just about filled out and now we need to be reminded that hayward will be a factor. It feels like we had like 3 of these last year, remember how he was gonna be a playoff x factor? Maybe he is back, but I'm gonna wait and see.

A reporter asked Morrison and he answered.  Hayward developed into an all star after years of putting in hard work in the off season.  It is fair to ask and fair to get excited. He didn't get to put in the basketball development work last off season and now he does. I don't understand how fans of the Celtics crap on a guy who chose to come to Boston and had a major injury through no fault of his own.  I thought Boston liked hard workers?  Guess not. 

Do you want to win? Hayward will have the biggest impact on that next season.  Would you rather hear that Hayward is sitting around and doing nothing?     

[ozgod]

Ah yes the old Veteran in the best shape of his life article. Right on schedule. Roster is just about filled out and now we need to be reminded that hayward will be a factor. It feels like we had like 3 of these last year, remember how he was gonna be a playoff x factor? Maybe he is back, but I'm gonna wait and see.

A reporter asked Morrison and he answered.  Hayward developed into an all star after years of putting in hard work in the off season.  It is fair to ask and fair to get excited. He didn't get to put in the basketball development work last off season and now he does. I don't understand how fans of the Celtics crap on a guy who chose to come to Boston and had a major injury through no fault of his own.  I thought Boston liked hard workers?  Guess not. 

Do you want to win? Hayward will have the biggest impact on that next season.  Would you rather hear that Hayward is sitting around and doing nothing?   

Some people here would rather hear that Hayward was playing Fortnite all summer so they can share such news with us. Alas, the links for those are all from last year I believe.

[Donoghus]

Ah yes the old Veteran in the best shape of his life article. Right on schedule. Roster is just about filled out and now we need to be reminded that hayward will be a factor. It feels like we had like 3 of these last year, remember how he was gonna be a playoff x factor? Maybe he is back, but I'm gonna wait and see.

A reporter asked Morrison and he answered.  Hayward developed into an all star after years of putting in hard work in the off season.  It is fair to ask and fair to get excited. He didn't get to put in the basketball development work last off season and now he does. I don't understand how fans of the Celtics crap on a guy who chose to come to Boston and had a major injury through no fault of his own.  I thought Boston liked hard workers?  Guess not. 

Do you want to win? Hayward will have the biggest impact on that next season.  Would you rather hear that Hayward is sitting around and doing nothing?   

Some people here would rather hear that Hayward was playing Fortnite all summer so they can share such news with us. Alas, the links for those are all from last year I believe.

Well, when you have one schtick, you might as well beat that horse into the ground.  Then continue to beat it another 6 feet under ground. 

[Phantom255x]

Even if Hayward returns to like 80% his former all-star level, that'd be huge for this team.

Unfortunately last year was still essentially a lost year with Hayward, but he showed flashes especially in the 2nd half and during the Pacers series of what he's capable of.

And I'm happy to hear about him being leaner and faster. It was pretty noticeable that Hayward was a bit sluggish on the court, which was understandable but at times real tough to watch.

[mmmmm]

I’m very hopeful for a Gordon Hayward resurgence, but this means absolutely nothing.

what means absolutely nothing? Lets hope Robert Williams and Tatum are working hard too, and not just goofing off in the off season. The players that take their jobs as a year round job rather than 8 month job are generally more successful.

Been a bunch of reports about Williams being in the training facility all off-season. If I recall correctly Brad or Danny singled he and Hayward out primarily as the guys who he'd seen most around the practice facility.

This, is why i have a problem for Brown's "travel around the world plus workout" attitude

It's all cool and fine as a person to have multiple interest , but as a NBA player it's not desirable, especially when you haven't prove yourself(as a star/perennial starter), he lacks determination

As previous poster said, whether Hayward and Williams will succeed i do not know, but if they fail it won't be due to to lack of effort

Lol - Jaylen travels for a couple of weeks a year after the season to interesting, exotic places and documents it. I highly doubt it interrupts his off-season workout regimen. Btw, have you seen the kind of shape the guy is in and the fact that every season he adds a new wrinkle to his game?

He is now the VP of the NBPA and also recently became a fellow of the MIT Media Lab Director's Fellows program. While other guys are playing NBA2K, Jaylen is trying to make the most of his time here on earth. Sorry the beginning of his 2018-19 season didn't go as you had hoped, but I don't think his work ethic is something you should harp on.

Like i said, that's all cool and fine for a person perspective, but when he is on the plane or cars traveling from gyms to gyms, or preparing the speech,  he can't do workouts, I'm sure he worked as hard as he can during his workouts, and he certainly did improve year after year, but is that the best he can do? did he do more workouts than those guys who live in the gym? i will have to put a question mark on it

The determination is what separates good and great, he talks big and obviously have a ton of confidence in himself, but can he(or is he willing to) reach his basketball ceiling, with that kind of attitude i just don't think so

Nothing wrong with throttling back a little for a month to let the body heal and keep the mind fresh. Every training program I’ve ever read talks about periodization. A body can’t go hard all the time and I don’t see anything wrong with letting his mind expand a little so he can come back ready to olay

Rest is of course necessary ,that's not the point though, i believe those who stayed in the gym all off season has their necessary rest too, the question is did Brown do his best to balance the rests and workouts? i think not

Travel on planes isn't exactly good for your body healing

Oh and he didn't really be ready last season, and he didn't "rest" his hand when it actually needs to, so no i'm not buying that

The only reason you think Brown isn't training enough is you don't like the guy. That's it.

You have no proof he isn't putting in 4-6 hours a day of training. For all you know he could be up at 5AM, goes for a one hour run. Comes back and does another 1-2 hours of weight training. Then eats and readies himself for the day and then later in the afternoon goes to a gym and puts in basketball work for 3 hours. And he could be doing this every day while simultaneously doing everything else to help grow his interests, business future, his mind and his all around person.

Brown was accused by some of doing the same thing last year. He came back with a much improved handle, a down pat turnaround, leg kick, fall away jumper, better able to finish through contact, somewhat better ability to see the open floor and make better passes and a self awareness to rid his game of the 16-23 foot, two point shot. And, he came into camp in the best shape of anyone on the team.

After mentally adjusting to a lesser role and moving to the bench, the guy then over the last 55 games or so, and through the playoffs shot 49/38/68 with a TS% over 60% which is tremendous for a shooting guard.

Clearly, any perceived anger at Jaylen for his off-season training was misplaced last year. Brown only struggled out of the gate(and only mentally) because he was expecting a bigger role based on what he did all of 2017-18 but over time, matured some, reset his thinking and thrived.

He also had an injured hand.

Great post, btw.

The notion that one can assert that any of these players aren't working hard just is silly to the point of being stupid unless one can prove you have near constant daily coverage of all their activities.    Just because some player isn't posting workout videos or isn't in a gym with people who post instagrams or make comments to the press doesn't mean they aren't working their ass off.

[Sophomore]

Crossing my fingers for Hayward to find his confidence and to be the guy he showed flashes of late last year.

That said, Morrison clearly likes to talk the players up. The other day he said he was really surprised by how quick Tacko Fall was.

Or maybe he's telling the truth and this is accurate.  Maybe he thought Tacko's feet were glued to the floor and when he found out they weren't it surprised him.  He didn't say Tacko was fast he said he had more movement then expected.  Sometimes people hear what they want to hear.

When he gives his first critical player assessment I’ll factor that in. So far it’s all building the players up - which makes sense in his role as SL coach. I have no idea how gordon will be - hope he’s great! - just saying I discount Morison’s statements because he’s got to do his job.

[keevsnick]

Ah yes the old Veteran in the best shape of his life article. Right on schedule. Roster is just about filled out and now we need to be reminded that hayward will be a factor. It feels like we had like 3 of these last year, remember how he was gonna be a playoff x factor? Maybe he is back, but I'm gonna wait and see.

A reporter asked Morrison and he answered.  Hayward developed into an all star after years of putting in hard work in the off season.  It is fair to ask and fair to get excited. He didn't get to put in the basketball development work last off season and now he does. I don't understand how fans of the Celtics crap on a guy who chose to come to Boston and had a major injury through no fault of his own.  I thought Boston liked hard workers?  Guess not. 

Do you want to win? Hayward will have the biggest impact on that next season.  Would you rather hear that Hayward is sitting around and doing nothing?   

Some people here would rather hear that Hayward was playing Fortnite all summer so they can share such news with us. Alas, the links for those are all from last year I believe.

I think you are guys are taking the wrong message from my post. I absolutely believe Hayward is working hard. I believe he is incredibly important for us next year. I would like to see him return to all star form. My point is this is a fluff article, it doesnt actually mean anything. Hayward can work as hard as humanly possible and given hes about to turn 30 and snapped his ankle in half it still wouldnt surprise me if hes only marginally better than last year. My point is this, we need to wait and see. I'm not getting excited until he shows it on the court. To me, an athlete working out
(Doing his job) isnt news.

[jade88]

If Gordon Hayward were to return to All Star form, or even improve, that would change everything here.


All of sudden we are closer than not. One of the Jays would be expendable in a deal for Bradley Beal. We have a path towards a title. Frontcourt issues aside.


Let's hope that over the next two seasons, our best forward is Gordon Hayward. It puts us back In immediate contention. F them kids.

[Silky]

My thing is this -- people who are really naturally good at stuff are bad teachers.


Jaylen should seek out a mentor who was a journeyman with a super long career who had to work his butt off to remain relevant.

Look for the guys who seemed like they shoulda been out of the league much sooner but just kept catching on with teams.


Anthony Tolliver.

Shane Battier.

Robert Horry.

Derek Fisher.

Thabo Sefolosha.

Nick Collison.

Mike Miller.


etc.

I would like to see him work with Vince Carter.
Ideal player for him to emulate. Score a variety of ways, use his athleticism to his advantage, shoot consistantly.

[johnnygreen]

Have there been any reports of how Hayward has been in the locker room? He missed his first year due to injury and was a shell of himself last season. I feel like it would be almost reasonable to assume that his locker room presence would not be what it should be if he was healthy the whole time. If he feels great coming into the season, then his influence could have a great effect on the court and also in the locker room. Maybe players like Brown and Tatum will view Hayward differently once he fully regains his confidence back. See him as a veteran they can rely on, rather than a player receiving favorable treatment from the coach because of a past relationship.

[Green-18]

My thing is this -- people who are really naturally good at stuff are bad teachers.


Jaylen should seek out a mentor who was a journeyman with a super long career who had to work his butt off to remain relevant.

Look for the guys who seemed like they shoulda been out of the league much sooner but just kept catching on with teams.


Anthony Tolliver.

Shane Battier.

Robert Horry.

Derek Fisher.

Thabo Sefolosha.

Nick Collison.

Mike Miller.


etc.

I would like to see him work with Vince Carter.
Ideal player for him to emulate. Score a variety of ways, use his athleticism to his advantage, shoot consistantly.

Vince is an excellent player to emulate from a skills standpoint.  I wonder how his career would have turned out if he hadn't hurt his knee in 2002.  The injury seemed to affect his aggressiveness for a couple of seasons.  He regained the freakish athleticism, but I thought he had more of a killer instinct prior to getting hurt. 

I suppose he would have lost his edge either way.  Carter and McGrady weren't obsessed like Kobe.

[footey]

Have there been any reports of how Hayward has been in the locker room? He missed his first year due to injury and was a shell of himself last season. I feel like it would be almost reasonable to assume that his locker room presence would not be what it should be if he was healthy the whole time. If he feels great coming into the season, then his influence could have a great effect on the court and also in the locker room. Maybe players like Brown and Tatum will view Hayward differently once he fully regains his confidence back. See him as a veteran they can rely on, rather than a player receiving favorable treatment from the coach because of a past relationship.

You raise a good point. I am concerned that Hayward is too shy with his teammates.  I'm not asking him to have a personality transplant. But I wish, as one of the senior guys on the team now (along with Kemba), he would spend more time between games/practices, hanging out with his teammates, building a stronger bond. I get the sense that there was very little of that last season.  It's all too easy for players, based on age, social and cultural backgrounds (including race) to just stay within their bubble.  I would like to see Hayward do a better job of breaking the ice here. Someone needs to take the first step.  If Kemba Walker can take his teammates out and treat them all to dinner, certainly Gordon Hayward can afford to do that as well.  He seems like a very nice guy, but I can't emphasize how important this is.  Garnett said it was how the 07/08 team was able to gel so quickly. It's not all on Gordon, but he is the oldest, has the big contract. He should cut down on his video games and start hanging with his teammates more. (Or bring them over to game with him, for goodness sake).

Brad and Danny need to push this too.

[nickagneta]

Have there been any reports of how Hayward has been in the locker room? He missed his first year due to injury and was a shell of himself last season. I feel like it would be almost reasonable to assume that his locker room presence would not be what it should be if he was healthy the whole time. If he feels great coming into the season, then his influence could have a great effect on the court and also in the locker room. Maybe players like Brown and Tatum will view Hayward differently once he fully regains his confidence back. See him as a veteran they can rely on, rather than a player receiving favorable treatment from the coach because of a past relationship.

You raise a good point. I am concerned that Hayward is too shy with his teammates.  I'm not asking him to have a personality transplant. But I wish, as one of the senior guys on the team now (along with Kemba), he would spend more time between games/practices, hanging out with his teammates, building a stronger bond. I get the sense that there was very little of that last season.  It's all too easy for players, based on age, social and cultural backgrounds (including race) to just stay within their bubble.  I would like to see Hayward do a better job of breaking the ice here. Someone needs to take the first step.  If Kemba Walker can take his teammates out and treat them all to dinner, certainly Gordon Hayward can afford to do that as well.  He seems like a very nice guy, but I can't emphasize how important this is.  Garnett said it was how the 07/08 team was able to gel so quickly. It's not all on Gordon, but he is the oldest, has the big contract. He should cut down on his video games and start hanging with his teammates more. (Or bring them over to game with him, for goodness sake).

Brad and Danny need to push this too.

What exactly have you seen and read that gives you the impression there is any truth in the fact that Hayward is shy, doesn't socialize with his teammates, doesn't treat them to dinner or that his teammates currently on this team don't have anything but the highest confidence in Hayward?

As Johnny Green said, there hasn't been a ton of locker room stories or travel stories about Gordon and what he is like with his teammates.