Stevens and Hayward have clearly worked out an arrangement where Gordon will be the one who subjugates his game so that guys like Tatum, Brown and Rozier get back their confidence and games. I think that's been a mistake.
In Hayward's last All-Star year, 2016 in UTA, he averaged 5.6 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.0 spg and 2.0 tpg in per36 terms.
Now he's averaging 6.7 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.4 spg and 1.8 tpg.
His defensive metrics have never been better.
What's different is his usage, which has gone from 28% to 19%. (Kyrie is at 29% this year, as the alpha.)
The one clear downgrade is that he's not getting to the line as often, but in December he averaged twice as many FTA as in October. All of us have seen him do more athletic things in the last month.
His shooting percentages have started to recover, as you'd expect. 38% from 3pt in December.
Honestly, I think any blame here goes to Stevens, who should get Hayward back into the starting lineup and make him a top 2 feature in the offense.
Bottom line, we will not be a top 2 team in the East unless Hayward is playing at close to All-Star level. No one out of Horford, Tatum, or Brown has shown they can be that second All-Star level talent this year.
Let GH start with a green light and sling it 15 times per game, and I think we will be a better team come April.