BOSTON — For the Celtics, life without the injured Gordon Hayward is going to get worse before it gets better.
They know it. Their opponents know it. And Boston fans will see it before their very eyes. For the first part of this season, there is likely going to be an unwelcome flashback to the Celtics before Isaiah Thomas came to town, when wins weren’t assumed.
There have been signs of the determination of this group in the wake of the Hayward left ankle catastrophe of Tuesday night. They battled back in Cleveland to take a second-half lead and led in the closing minutes before LeBron James and company closed them out in the final 60 seconds.