Boston Celtics: Pros and cons of Gordon Hayward as sixth man

Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has been no exception to the team’s roller coaster of a season. With the postseason inching closer and closer, his role as sixth man seems to be completely locked in — for better or worse.

When the Boston Celtics inked Gordon Hayward to a four-year, max deal in the 2017 offseason, they probably did not expect that their star signee would be firmly in the role as the team’s sixth man the following postseason. However, Kyrie Irving attempted to lob Hayward an alley-oop opening night of the 2017-18 season, and the rest is history.

While his season has definitely not been up to standards to what he spent his career with the Utah Jazz building toward, Hayward has played an integral role on the Celtics this season and will be a massive factor heading into the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

These playoffs will mean a lot for a Boston Celtics team on the cusp of either potential greatness or catastrophic collapse. With Hayward firmly entrenched in a sixth man role, he has the potential to greatly affect the game with his talent and veteran experience, but it could also have negative ramifications for the rest of the team.