Gordon Hayward thinks the 2018 Celtics had ‘too many agendas’

Morning Sports activities Replace

“There’s just one basketball, and it is onerous to make that work.”

Gordon Hayward’s ideas on a former Celtics workforce: In 2018, the Celtics entered the season laden with expertise and seemingly heading in the right direction for a championship run.

What ensued was disappointment, as Boston completed fourth within the Jap Convention and misplaced to the Bucks in 5 video games within the second spherical of the playoffs.

On reflection, one member of that workforce thinks the underachievement was the results of “too many agendas.”

Gordon Hayward, who signed with the Celtics as a free agent in 2017, not too long ago spoke in regards to the topic throughout an interview on “Podcast P with Paul George.”

“In my eyes it was simply, all of us had too many agendas, and the agenda to win the entire thing was not the primary one,” Hayward instructed George.

“To not blame anybody both, as a result of I believe it was all human nature,” he added.

Hayward provided extra element, strolling his method by the varied circumstances of that season’s roster.

“I imply I [was] getting back from the place the final season I performed, I used to be an All-Star, so, I [was] making an attempt to show that I’m nonetheless an All-Star,” Hayward stated. “Kyrie [Irving] was harm the 12 months earlier than, too; [the Celtics] didn’t miss the playoffs. So he’s making an attempt to show that is nonetheless his workforce. Then you definately’ve obtained [Jayson Tatum] and Jaylen [Brown] and Terry [Rozier] coming off the place they’re all beginning, make it to the Jap Convention Finals the 12 months earlier than. They’re all making an attempt to show, like, ‘We’ve arrived.’”

Hayward continued, noting that Marcus Sensible and Marcus Morris have been additionally on the roster and battling for roles.

“We had in all probability eight gamers that had profession highs of over 40 [points in a game] who have been all arguably of their prime,” he defined.

In Hayward’s view, one subject was redundancy.

“In my view, the opposite drawback is there have been too many people in the very same place,” he stated, noting that many of the workforce’s starters all “preferred to have the ball.”

“There’s just one basketball, and it’s onerous to make that work,” Hayward concluded. “I believe that was our largest subject, was we have been all making an attempt to show stuff individually, and by no means actually got here collectively as a workforce. Even nonetheless we made it to the second spherical, and that was with all of the difficulties that we had.”

Requested if the workforce had “onerous conversations,” Hayward joked that the Celtics had “like eight of them,” however that it didn’t end in elementary modifications.

“It was a kind of issues the place we had in all probability 5 players-only conferences, and issues have been stated that have been the proper issues, however it was simply in a single ear and out the opposite.”

Trivia: The 2018-2019 Celtics roster included two gamers who have been born in Australia. Are you able to title them?

(Reply on the backside.)

Trace: Solely certainly one of them has performed for Australia’s nationwide workforce.

Extra from Boston.com:

Each faculty soccer playoff video games lived as much as the hype: New 12 months’s Day offered a pair of faculty soccer match-ups to find out who will play for the nationwide championship on Monday, Jan. 8, in Houston. Each video games got here right down to the ultimate play.

Within the first recreation, Michigan defeated Alabama in an extra time thriller:

And within the second conflict, Washington was capable of maintain off Texas:

On at the present time: In 1963, the Celtics reversed an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Warriors in extra time, 135-120. Invoice Russell and Boston’s protection held Wilt Chamberlain to what was then a season-low 23 factors. Russell contributed 10 factors, 5 assists, and 33 rebounds (edging Chamberlain’s 31 rebounds).

Boston’s offense was pushed by 41 factors from Tommy Heinsohn, 32 factors from Sam Jones, and a triple-double (15 factors, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) from Okay.C. Jones.

Every day spotlight: Ultimately, it was a easy end for Mohamed Salah, however the Egyptian merely capped a beautiful Liverpool workforce purpose, highlighted by a high quality Luis Diaz move. Liverpool emerged with a victory over Newcastle, 4-2.

Trivia reply: Kyrie Irving, Aron Baynes