Paul George’s advice for Boston Celtics’ Gordon Hayward’s struggles: ’Don’t be so hard on yourself’

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/02/paul-georges-advice-for-boston-celtics-gordon-haywards-struggles-dont-be-so-hard-on-yourself.html



Paul George’s advice for Boston Celtics’ Gordon Hayward’s struggles: ’Don’t be so hard on yourself’




Updated Feb 3, 5:58 PM; Posted Feb 3, 5:57 PM




Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Celtics won 113-99. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) (twesterh@masslive.com)




By Tom Westerholmtwesterh@masslive.com




BOSTON -- Boston Celtics wing Gordon Hayward has had worse games than Sunday’s 134-129 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (three points on 1-for-6 shooting, but three rebounds, a pair of assists and an important steal), but his shooting struggles were stark, and once again he struggled to finish around the rim.

Hayward’s return from the broken ankle that ended his 2017-18 season five minutes in has been up and down -- plenty of discouraging moments, with some really good ones sprinkled in (a pair of great performances against Minnesota leap to mind, but there were others as well).


Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George suffered a similarly devastating injury in 2014, when his leg broke gruesomely in a Team USA scrimmage. Because both Hayward and George suffered injuries that were particularly tough to look at, Hayward’s recovery has been compared to George’s constantly.

George doesn’t believe that to be fair.

“Just honestly, don’t be so hard on yourself,” George said, when asked what he would say to Hayward for advice. “I was fortunate. Again, when I got hurt, the following season I got to play six games and that kind of helped me into the transition. The fact of the matter is, everybody’s expecting Gordon to be Gordon from Utah. But he’s not. He’s gotta take strides, take steps along the way. Fans can’t be too hard on him. He can’t be too hard on himself. The game is different. You get hurt and sit out a year and try to come back, the game is totally different (than) the way you left it. He’s got to adapt, find his game, find his rhythm, block out the noise that people are expecting him to be himself right away. It takes time.”

George returned from his injury and continued to improve. After a slower 2016-17 season (23.1 points, but just 41.8 percent from the field), he became one of the league’s most dynamic scorers this year. George is posting a career-high 27.6 points per game with an effective field-goal percentage of 54.3, and he is in the conversation for both Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.


As noted by MassLive’s John Karalis, Hayward also had a set back this summer, which certainly hasn’t accelerated his return. Not only was he unable to return to the court at the end of last season, he couldn’t start playing 5-on-5 until September.

So as George noted, Celtics fans would do well to be patient with Hayward. This season has been a struggle, but he still has plenty of time to figure it out.

“When I got hurt, the doctors told me it would be two to three years before I feel the way I feel now,” George said. “Despite them saying I would make a full recovery, sit the next season out, make a full recovery and I would be back to myself, but it won’t be two or three years before I notice everything coming back. So it’s a long marathon for him. But he will be all right.”



bob
MY NOTE:  We are all frustrated with Gordon's contributions.  He shows glimpses of OG, and then he turns into Jeff Green, but PG13 has an excellent point.  Remember his injury?  That might be the worst basketball injury I've ever seen, up there with Joe Theismann's which is, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard for hideous sports injuries.  He wasn't the same the year he came back neither.  He broke his leg 8/1/14 in a Team USA scrimmage and played 6 games the following season.  He averaged 8.8ppg in those 6 games.  Gordon's ankle break is right up there with Paul George and Joe Theismann's, except even worse because it was his ankle, a joint, and not the middle of the tibia.  My problem is that I am not a normally patient individual, but that's my cross to bear, it shouldn't be his too.  Keep at it, Gordon.  April would be great but October would be good too.



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