It looked the Boston Celtics’ plans for the NBA Finals came crashing down when Gordon Hayward fractured his tibia and ankle in the regular season-opener game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But this is not necessarily so!  For those who enjoy the kind of online betting NZ and the rest of the world offers, the Celtics remain viable.

The Celtics are Very Deep

The amazing trade that the Celtics made with the Brooklyn Nets comes into play. Everyone scratched their heads.   What id Danny Ainge do?  He hung on to the players drafted thanks to the high picks instead of cashing them in for a superstar. This was before the trade for Kyrie Irving, which didn’t cost him a superstar.  Now Celtic fans rejoice at his foresight.

The third overall 2016 pick, Jaylen Brown, stepped up confidently on Tuesday evening,  going on to pour 25 points on 23 shots. Jayson Tatum, whom the Celtics took after trading down in the 2017 draft, had a total of 14 points in his debut for the NBA.  And Marcus Morris, the experienced forward absent on Tuesday, will take a big offensive role  when he returns.

The Celtics’ Near Win Against the Cavaliers

At the half-time, the Celtics were down 54 – 38, with the team still reeling after the injury Hayward had suffered. Then 33 points in the third quarter got them right back into play before they fell by just three. This, in the context of one of their star players being grievously hurt, is more than understandable.  The team proved their resilience in this game, despite not having a home ground advantage either.

Stevens is a Super Coach

Brad Stevens’ response to the media regarding what he had told his team at half-time pretty much sums it up. He said that he had no magical words for what had happened.   He understood that all of them were hurting for Hayward.

He added that he at no point tried to remove the human element from what had occurred, and he simply related to them as human beings. With this kind of compassion added to his basketball know-how, this team has the perfect coach to see them through this very unfortunate accident.