The Twitter-sphere posed a question to its basketball fans over the weekend:
For Boston fans, hopefully the answer is "help the Celtics beat the Heat."
The start of the Eastern Conference Finals was anything but ideal for Boston. After building double-digit leads over Miami in both Games 1 and 2, the Celtics found themslelves on the losing side of each contest, falling into an 0-2 hole against the Heat.
In Game 3, however, one happy return paid dividends.
After missing the Celtics' last 12 playoff games due to a severe ankle sprain, Gordon Hayward returned in Game 3 to give Boston a boost and get on the board in the series.
Though his final stat line wasn't eye-popping – he scored only 6 points – Hayward added another dimension to the Boston offense by giving them a third wing who can score and facilitate, considering he was one of four players that averaged 17 points or more for the Celtics this season.
For the season Hayward averaged 4.1 assists per game and those playmaking skills were on display in Game 3, as he recorded 4 assists off the bench.
Tom Westerholm of Mass Live detailed the impact of Hayward's playmaking in Game 3 and how it can unlock a new layer of the Celtics offense in this series against Miami.
"Hayward’s stats were relatively quiet -- he was +1 in his 30 minutes with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists," said Westerholm. "But his effect on the game was noteworthy, and even his assists spoke to his impact.
"Hayward’s presence led to timely buckets, even if he didn’t score them himself. That’s the thing about Hayward: He’s useful even when he isn’t tangibly productive, which can’t be said about Boston’s bench as a whole."
Former NBA champ Richard Jefferson said on ESPN's The Jump that Hayward was indeed the difference for the Celtics in Game 3, simply because of his presence.
"Just having him on the court – he didn't have this amazing game. It wasn't over the top. But having a guy who grew up in the Brad Stevens' system ... Gordon Hayward is such an unselfish player, and I don't want to say that he is the focal point but he averaged 17 points a game. That's nothing to scoff about."
Hayward averaged 17.5 points during the regular season, but against the Heat, he put up 22.0 points while shooting 55.6% from the field.
If Hayward can get back in the flow of things and mimic the success he had against Miami in the regular season in Wednesday's Game 4 and beyond, he could prove to be the missing piece for a Boston team looking to make its first NBA Finals appearance since 2010.
