INSIDE TAKE: HAYWARD WILL ‘FIT IN PERFECTLY’ WITH C’S

How well will Gordon Hayward (right) do with the Celtics? Let’s check in with hoop lifer Gordie Chiesa, who spent the last five years working for the Magic after 16 years as a Jazz assistant, and has lived in Utah the past 28 years. He was also once the coach at Providence College. (“Go Friars,” he interjected.)

“Let me tell you, he’s going to fit in perfectly there,” Chiesa said of Hayward. “The Celtics fans are going to enjoy watching him play.

“The thing I like about him is that he’s continued to get better. He’s always working to improve his game. The last two years, his biggest development has been his ball skills, his ability to advance the ball and to really make plays. And at 6-foot-8, he can pass over the top of the defense, which is absolutely a big skill in the NBA.

“So he’s an interesting player. He’s improved every single season, which tells you about his work ethic and also how he views himself.”

Chiesa also believes Hayward will benefit from the situations in which coach Brad Stevens utilizes him, even if it’s just getting the C’s to use the break more often.

“The ability to come down the floor against smaller people in transition and be able to have enough to navigate with ball skills around and over the top of them really helps his game,” Chiesa said. “But the biggest part of his game has really been his confidence. With NBA players, each passing year when you get better ball skills, your whole game opens up to you because you’re confident. You know, whether there’s a bigger guy guarding you or a smaller guy guarding you, you feel that you can get to a certain spot on the floor and raise up and get a good shot, a good look at the basket.

“He’s an intelligent player. He can adapt to anything.”