Boston Celtics: 3 goals for Gordon Hayward in 2018-19

1. Look to facilitate

While capable, Hayward has never been a high assist man over the course of his NBA career, dishing only 3.4 assists per contest in his career, and 3.5 during his last full season with the Jazz. That mark of 3.5 had him sitting a lowly 22nd among the 33 players to average over 20 points per game that season.

To be fair, the supporting cast that Hayward had in Utah is not on the same level as the one he will experience this coming season, but nonetheless, he’s far too talented to not have that dime number up around the five per game mark.

With Irving, Tatum, Brown, Horford, Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart on his squad, there will be opportunities aplenty to work the ball around and pick up easy assists.

Boston was hardly an offensive juggernaut in 2017-18, ranking 18th league-wide for offensive rating and 20th for assists with 22.5 per game. You should probably expect that number to rise this season, as Brad Stevens adjusts to accommodate the plethora of offensive stars in his hands.

While raw box score numbers are hardly an indication of impact, this one feels inevitable, and it would be nice to see Hayward utilize his more than capable court vision to full effect. The Celtics morphed into the ultimate team-first unit last season, and adding Hayward’s All-Star ability will do that mantra no harm.