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Toronto • Gordon Hayward is averaging nearly 20 points, six rebounds and five rebounds a game—and Raptors coach Dwane Casey says he totally saw this coming.
But what Casey saw as he watched Hayward and the Jazz play at Madison Square Garden caught him by surprise.
"If you had told me a year ago he was going to be guarding Carmelo Anthony in the post, I would have thought you were on drugs or something," Casey said prior to Saturday night's tipoff at the Air Canada Centre. "… He was taking the bumps and the hits last night and I was really impressed with how tough he played Anthony in the post. Not a lot of guys can do that. But it's a compliment to how hard he worked on his body this summer."
Hayward has been the heart and soul of the Jazz through the team's first 10 games, and that heart and soul was sore, tired and fighting a cold after Utah's 102-100 win over the Knicks. In the locker room Saturday, Hayward said his illness had probably gotten worse overnight and with the Jazz on the final game of a five-game road trip it will be interesting to see how much the fifth-year forward has left in the tank.
As of now, Jazz coach Quin Snyder says, there aren't restrictions on how much Hayward will play.
"We go into every game conscious of our players' health and their minutes," he said. "The way the last few games have evolved, especially with Rodney Hood being out, we're a little thinner on the perimeter and as a result Gordon's played a few extra minutes. We've been in some close games as well. He's looked good. He's looked strong to me. And one of the things about what he's doing and what he's assuming in that leadership role is his ability to play through fatigue."
The Raptors will "tag team" Hayward with forwards James Johnson and Terrence Ross at times, Casey said.
"Terrence does a great job of chasing guys like [Kyle] Korver and Hayward around those screen, avoiding screens, avoiding contact," the coach said. And the Raptors expect Hayward to be a tough assignment regardless.
— Aaron Falk