NBA: Hayward injury: That’s not it

The start of the season was disastrous for the Boston Celtics due to Gordon Hayward’s terrible injury.Victory or defeat faded into the background, the opponents felt with the Celts.But it’s too early to write off the team after the probable end of the season for the new star team – as the second half also showed.

Eventually you look at it, even though you don’t want to.

Every sports fan – whether active or passive – has been there before or has seen it on the screen when an athlete is so badly injured that victory or defeat suddenly seems unimportant and banal.The 20,000 fans and athletes in the Quicken Loans Arena had to experience such a moment when Gordon Hayward was knocked down after less than six minutes of Celtics newcomer Gordon Hayward.

The accident happened on a standard play.Hayward cut backdoor to the basket without a ball and was served by Kyrie Irving via Alley-oop.But the attempt failed – and when he landed Hayward got so unhappy between opponents LeBron James and Jae Crowder that his left leg could not withstand the force.

The number 20 fell and pointed to his left foot, which was at an unnatural 90-degree angle from his leg.A referee immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation and called the doctors, who immediately took care of Hayward.Otherwise: Silence.

Even the otherwise eloquent TNT commentator Kevin Harland didn’t say anything for minutes after he had classified the situation very quickly, soberly and correctly with “Gordon Hayward has broken his leg”.Dwyane Wade kneeling at the edge of the field, LeBron James prayed.Players on the Cavs bench before the accident left their seats to avoid having to look at the leg.The Celtics team got together on the other side in a Huddle, Kyrie Irving buried his face in the shoulders of his fellow players.

The frightening silence in the normally noisy arena, which lasted for several minutes, was broken up when Hayward – now with his leg covered and shone – was lifted onto a mobile stretcher and pushed into the catacombs.LeBron James, who gave Hayward the best wishes on the way and once again proved his sportsmanship.But also the opponent’s fans showed greatness when they applauded the injured man loudly.Even the security team joined in, and security guards patted Hayward on the back.

The first diagnosis for Hayward, which was still spread out of the arena: a dislocated ankle and a broken tibia.In the meantime, he has probably been admitted to the New England Baptist Hospital, a Celtics partner clinic.There he is to be operated on in real time.It is certainly too early to make predictions about the downtime, but a seasonal stop is considered probable.

“This was probably one of the worst injuries I’ve ever seen,”said Irving, who was there in 2014 when Paul George received a similarly devastating injury at Team USA camp after the match.LeBron expressed his sympathy and wished Hayward and the family a lot of strength “Nobody wants anything like this to happen, no matter which player or team he comes from.It hurts,”James added.

When things suddenly continued after the injury interruption, the first moves seemed rather surreal – no one really managed to switch back to the professional mode at the push of a button.The Cavs managed this better in the following time, they managed a 14:2 run in the first quarter, which brought the first comfortable lead, which was extended until the break (54:38).

Now it would have been practical to expect that Celtics would not recover from it, if they would break in due to the traumatic events and give the game away.

It should turn out differently.Coach Brad Stevens must have found impressive words in the half-time break, as his men fought their way back into the game and even sniffed at victory after a comeback.And because they succeeded in doing so, it is wrong to write that the hopes for a Celtics finals run were dashed after only six minutes of the season.Or that the season was over and Ainge’s patience for years to form a new super team with his many assets was for the cat after the first quarter of the season 2017/18.

Of course, Hayward’s failure is a bitter setback, especially in direct trade fairs with the Cavaliers.As part of the Irving trade, his personalities had almost disappeared and people forgot that he had an average of 21.9 points last season in Utah, which was similar to Kyrie’s influence in Cleveland.Now the two of them were supposed to be the showpiece of a newly formed team, a new 1-2-punch in the east, which above all lifts the offense to a new level.It’s not gonna happen right now.

But no one should write off this team.This is also due to coach Brad Stevens, who is able to form a top performer out of every specialist in the team in certain situations.For example, Jaylen Brown – the 21-year-old Sophomore, who pulled down 40 minutes in Cleveland and not only worked hard, but also delivered 25 points and many highlights.

Or Marcus Smart, who plays with a certain amount of fury because the Celtics had refrained from extending his rookie contract at short notice, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018.This obviously spurs him positively on, as his defensive and aggressive attitude in the offensive post game has shown.

Or Jayson Tatum – a rookie who is a starter in a top team and despite throwing problems he made his debut with a double double double.This list could go even further than Marcus Morris, who is still pausing with knee problems and can have a big influence on the offense, Terry Rozier or even worker Daniel Theis, who won a “DNP” at his first regular season game.

They all have in common, however, that they are not allowed to play and perform, as their age suggests in the identity card.That’s kind of unfair, since they have to mature much faster than young people in other franchises – but dealing with Isaiah Thomas’ situation in the past playoffs has shown that this is possible.Of course, only in relation to the players who were already on board at that time.

There is also the chance to become active again on the market and to strengthen oneself externally.In the case of a season out of Hayward, a so-called Disabled Payer Extension would be used, which in this case is worth around $8.4 million and can be invested in a new player.

The most important thing, however, is that “Gordon fully and successfully recovers”, coach Stevens stressed.There is nothing more to say, everything else is unimportant.Hayward’s failure is likely to be particularly close to the coach, since they have a special relationship.Stevens – then NCAA coach with Butler – had once recruited Hayward at college and transformed him from a no-name to a first-round pick.

Young Jaylen Brown, however, put it in a nutshell with another announcement:”If you get into trouble, you have two options: give up or look ahead and carry on.We chose the second option,”he said after the Ohio game.

And the second half has shown that this was not just some empty phrase – but that Celtics are also a team in a new formation that can take many setbacks away.