Hayward starting from the bench

[Roy H.]

I would love it if Hayward embraced the Havlicek role. It would make our team more dangerous, as it would keep everyone fresher.

But, I suspect that that won’t happen.

[Green-18]

I don't like Hayward off the bench, assuming he quickly returns to form next season.  We all love Tatum and Jaylen but let's not overlook how difficult it is for the Celtics to play a consistent 48 minutes on the offensive end.  The offense was mediocre even when Kyrie was healthy. 

Hayward is a complete basketball player who you can trust to make the right play almost every time.  His presence gives us the potential to be a top 3 offense in the NBA. 

I certainly wouldn't mind if Hayward was the first player to rest in our starting rotation.  I like the idea of him leading a bench unit in the 2nd quarter.

[celts55]

I would love it if Hayward embraced the Havlicek role. It would make our team more dangerous, as it would keep everyone fresher.

But, I suspect that that won’t happen.

I 100% agree with this. Haywood off the bench with Morris, Rozier aand Smart would be unbelievable.
I also don't see Haywood embracing the 6th man role, but if he did, it would be amazing.
Just because he's off the bench doesn't mean he can't play big minutes, a I would fully expect him to be on the floor at the end of the game, when it counts.

[incoherent]

I think this idea is very far fetched. Hayward is very good. Better then Jaylen Brown.  Remember Hayward is an all-around player. He has much better vision then both Brown and Tatum, and I believe Hayward plays defense at comparable levels if not a little better then Tatum at least. 

If someone is going to come off the bench due to match ups it's going to be Tatum or Brown based on match up.

[timpiker]

Hayward will start.

[wdleehi]

Hayward will start.



If Hayward or Tatum can do a good job defending SGs, I think Brown is a good choice to come off the bench (while still playing 30 plus minutes a game).  He played well off the bench this past series. 


I still think the Celtics start big but finish small. 

[tonydelk]

The same 5 that started this year will start next year.  Stevens will sub two guys early if Rozier is still with the team.   Stevens will have so much flexibility with two starters beating up on the 2nd units of other teams nightly because of this substitution style. 

[CFAN38]

After this series, i just can't find the reason why would any player from the duo Tatum/Brown be benched when Hayward returns. I know that some of you will say Tatum can be moved to 4, but I think that's not going to happen. He really found his body and his play at 3. He just perfecty fits to it. And you can't bench Brown as well.

Unless some trades happen, I expect:

Irving
Brown
Tatum
Horford
Baynes

Other opinions?

They all started before Hayward got hurt and they will probably all start again next year.  Hayward is big and strong enough to guard 4's if Tatum isn't up to the task.

100% agree

Everyone who is hung up on who starts and the issues with starting 3 wings needs to look around the NBA. The Power Forward position is effectively dead.

Looking around the league the only teams that pop into my head as starting a true PF and Center are the Pistons Griffin/Drummons, Raptors Ibakba/Val, Pelicans Davis/Cousins, Minn Gibson/KAT. Im sure im missing a few but the point is 80% of the time the Cs are fine with starting 3 wings. The rest of the time the miss match goes both ways and the other teams is going to struggle to match Cs on the perimeter.

It also wont be as big of an issue becuase the Cs first substitution will likely be to bring a big in for a wing thus spreading the scorers between 1st and 2nd unit.

example for the sake of this argument ill assume Rozier is traded for a pick and Baynes is resigned

Start game

Irving
Brown
Tatum
Hayward
Horford

First Sub

Irving
Smart
Hayward
Horford
Baynes

2nd sub

Smart
Brown
Tatum
Morris
Baynes

[spikelovetheCelts]

Heyward will start, maybe by end of the year he will do the 6 man. But i think Brown will be the guy.  This is such a blessing. I hope we can keep Smart, I would love for Danny to overpay him for 1 year and see how things sort out.
I also think Brad will have some different starting lineups for rest during the year.

[sdceltsfan]

Outside of injury-related recovery/working his way back to form, there is no freaking way Hayward is coming off the bench. The Celtics just shelled out a max deal for this guy to be a #1/2 option for the team. Maybe if he blows it after a quarter of the season, but out the gate there is no way he is on the bench.

Baynes will only be here if Baynes wants to be here....meaning he is going to have to take leas money. There will be a very specific role for him as a key cog in the big rotation and a spot-starter for occasions where we play the few bigger frontcourt teams left (New Orleans, Detroit, Philly)....but he’s realistically the 8th or 9th best player when the current roster (with Kyrie and Hayward back healthy) is intact.

He can definitely start for a crappy team and get more money if he wants to. So that’s basically up to him and his agent to decide. He seems very happy here, so we’ll see.

The starting 5 next year is obvious

Kyrie/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Horford

Hayward and Tatum will be an innerchangeable wing duo. I see Tatum as the KD type of wing on the offensive end, wirh Hayward being more of an outside-inside wing as the better perimeter shooter (by a small margin). On defense it will be a challenge, but as Tatum bulks up, he should be able to hang with most PF’s.

Rozier is the obvious 6th man, with Smart/Baynes taking turns as the 2nd and 3rd sub depending on matchups. And don’t sleep on Thiess! This is gunna be such a fun team to watch next year, assuming every current player remains. Or Danny takes another swing for the fences.

[bellerephon]

I would love it if Hayward embraced the Havlicek role. It would make our team more dangerous, as it would keep everyone fresher.

But, I suspect that that won’t happen.

I 100% agree with this. Haywood off the bench with Morris, Rozier aand Smart would be unbelievable.
I also don't see Haywood embracing the 6th man role, but if he did, it would be amazing.
Just because he's off the bench doesn't mean he can't play big minutes, a I would fully expect him to be on the floor at the end of the game, when it counts.

I see no advantage to not starting Hayward. Sure it makes the bench better, but it makes the starting lineup worse. If CBS is worried about scoring with the second unit, he can simply stagger his substitutions so that one or two of Kyrie, Hayward, Brown or Tatum are always on the floor. It's easy enough to do.

[Vermont Green]

If you look at 82games, Hayward in 2016-17 played about 50/50 between SG and SF for Utah.  No minutes at PF.  In prior seasons, he was about 1/3 SG and 2/3 SF, again, never at PF.  I actually think Hayward off the bench and splitting time between SG and SF would be a great way to use him.  He could still get starter minutes and be on the court at the end of the game (John Havlicek?).

He could also start and let Tatum come off the bench.  Not much difference really.  I would still play Brown primarily at SG and Tatum primarily at SF and let Hayward "swing".  I like Hayward at PF even less than I like Tatum at PF.

[bellerephon]

I think it's almost certain they will start Kyrie, Brown, Hayward, Tatum and Horford, and they should. They are by far the best players on this team. It is undersized, but in today's NBA that is mattering less and less. That lineup would be a nightmare for a team with two bigs to try and guard. There is nothing to be gained from having Hayward come off the bench that could not be gained with proper substitutions. Put the best lineup out there, get out to good starts, then go into your substitutions.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

There is no way Hayward comes off the bench. He is an outstanding two way player, a vet, and a max contract guy. The Celts started the season with Kyrie, Brown, Tatum, Horford, and Hayward as the starters. It’s hard to imagine it won’t be that again unless there is an injury. Baynes might not even be on the roster.

^This.

[Roy H.]

I would love it if Hayward embraced the Havlicek role. It would make our team more dangerous, as it would keep everyone fresher.

But, I suspect that that won’t happen.

I 100% agree with this. Haywood off the bench with Morris, Rozier aand Smart would be unbelievable.
I also don't see Haywood embracing the 6th man role, but if he did, it would be amazing.
Just because he's off the bench doesn't mean he can't play big minutes, a I would fully expect him to be on the floor at the end of the game, when it counts.

I see no advantage to not starting Hayward. Sure it makes the bench better, but it makes the starting lineup worse. If CBS is worried about scoring with the second unit, he can simply stagger his substitutions so that one or two of Kyrie, Hayward, Brown or Tatum are always on the floor. It's easy enough to do.

One reason Horford has been so successful against Embiid is because Baynes does the heavy defensive lifting early in the game. That leaves Horford fresh in the fourth quarter.

Having Horford defend centers full time, and using Tatum against bigger players, wears both down faster within games, potentially leaving both less effective.

Having five excellent offensive players on the court is a bit of a diminishing returns thing, especially compared to how much an elite player could help the bench.

If having an elite, HOF-level Sixth Man was good enough for Red Auerbach and Greg Popovich, maybe it’s an idea worth considering.  Or, maybe the two best coaches of all-time were arbitrary and foolish? (You can add Steve Kerr to that list, bringing Iguodala off the bench despite being one of his top five players and being part of Golden State’s “death” lineup.)