FAST BREAK
Hayward suffers broken ankle 5 minutes into Celtics debut; Cavs hold off Boston in opener
You didn’t need to see Gordon Hayward’s mangled left leg to know the extent of his injury. The look of shock, disgust and sadness from the players on the court and immediate reaction from the Cleveland Cavaliers bench said everything.
The NBA season wasn’t even six minutes old on Tuesday before it all went horribly wrong for Hayward and the Boston Celtics. Hayward, who signed a four-year, $128 million contract in July, suffered a fractured left ankle in the first quarter of the Celtics debut and is likely done for the season.
“Obviously you hurt for him,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who was Hayward’s college coach at Butler. “Both teams saw it. Everyone in the arena saw it. It’s hard. Nobody wants to see that.”
The game, a 102-99 Cavs victory, was supposed to be about Kyrie Irving returning to Cleveland but it will now be remembered for Hayward being stretched off the floor.
The scene at Quicken Loans Arena was reminiscent of that August night in Las Vegas three years ago when Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury during an exhibition game with the U.S. national team. George returned eight months later and regained his All-Star form the following season.
George, who was watching Tuesday’s opener, immediately tweeted out “God Bless you bro.”
The Celtics did not provide a timetable for Hayward, who is scheduled to have surgery in Boston on Wednesday. The NBA regular season ends in six months.
It is a devastating blow for a revamped Celtics team that was considered Cleveland’s toughest competition in the Eastern Conference. Only four players remain from the Celtics roster that finished with the best record in the East last year before losing the conference finals in five games.
Hayward, who became an All-Star with the Utah Jazz last season and then became one of the prime free agent targets in July, was acquired by Boston six weeks before Celtics president Danny Ainge traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and a 2017 first round pick that belonged to the Nets for Irving.
Coincidentally, Thomas was heavily involved in the Celtics recruitment of Hayward. On Tuesday, Thomas, who is expected to be sidelined until January with a hip injury, was in the locker room with Hayward for an extended period before returning to bench. LeBron James also returned to the locker room after the first quarter to check on Hayward.
James was involved in the unfortunate play that began with Hayward jumping to catch a pass in the paint. LeBron also jumped for the ball and made incidental contact with Hayward, which caused the Celtics forward to land awkwardly.
Hayward appeared to be in shock as he sat on the court and looked at his left foot which was painfully turned inward.
The incident took place in front of the Cavs bench and their players and coaching reacted accordingly. Dwyane Wade knelt and placed his hands on his head while Irving, visibly shaken, embraced teammates Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum.
Injuries happen throughout the season but few are as visually upsetting as Hayward’s. That it happened on opening night is noteworthy because NBA commissioner Adam Silver moved up the start of the season one week to give players more rest. The league also eliminated four games in five nights and reduced the number of back-to-backs.
But no amount of rest could prevent an injury like Hayward’s, which occurred with 6 minutes and 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“It was terrifying,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said prior to Golden State’s home opener against Houston. “The whole coaches’ office was just devastated watching it. It just shows the fragile nature of what we do.”
The immediate concern is Hayward’s health and how quickly he can recover from the injury. The longterm concern for the Celtics is whether they can salvage a season that 24 hours earlier looked so promising.
Even without Hayward, Boston is a playoff team in the Eastern Conference but they may be a notch below Washington and Toronto.
The Celtics, however, are well coached and well organized. They overcame an 18-point deficit and had a lead in the final two minutes before Cleveland closed the game on a 7-1 run. Irving had a chance to tie it but his three over James came up short.
Irving and LeBron then slapped hands and embraced before going their separate ways.
Cleveland is poised for another Finals run. The future for Boston and Hayward is uncertain.
And that’s never good on opening night.