PHILADELPHIA — His name is typically among those bellowed out by the public address during pregame introductions and it’s been that way for his 12-year career.
That’s what made things all the more unusual for Gordon Hayward in his return after a 22-game absence. Instead of being dropped back into his usual position in the rotation as the starting small forward, coach James Borrego elected to bring Hayward off the bench in their 144-114 loss to Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Coming off the bench was something Hayward had to get used to. After all, he’s trotted onto the floor with his teammates for the opening tipoff in 571 of the 733 career games he’s suited up.
“Yeah, it’s definitely different coming off the bench,” Hayward said after recording five points, four assists and three rebounds in 17 minutes. “And that’s what J.B. wanted me to do tonight. So, I’m just going to do whatever I can to help us win for however many minutes I can give out there and hopefully next game will be better.”
Hayward’s presence throws a kink into the well-oiled machine the Hornets have boasted over the last couple of weeks. They rattled off wins in 10 of their previous 14 games leading into their tilt with the 76ers, mostly utilizing a 10-man rotation.
After tinkering with the starting lineup once Hayward got injured Feb. 7 and going with Kelly Oubre at first, Borrego settled on inserting PJ Washington at power forward and moved Miles Bridges to small forward. The move paid off for the Hornets, but now they are in an intriguing dilemma.
As they creep closer to the regular-season finish line and ready themselves for the play-in tournament — possibly staring at road games unless they manage to hold on and finish at least above 10th place in the Eastern Conference — the prospect of incorporating Hayward into their five-man combinations presents a unique predicament.
“Well, it’s a challenge, but that’s my job and I’ll figure it out,” Borrego said. “We’ll take a look at the film, look at the rotations. We’ve got two days now to digest and figure out what we are going to do. Obviously, we’ve not practiced together even though Gordon’s gone live. This is not like he’s practiced with our group. But we have two days here to talk through it, figure it out.
“I’ll try to bring some consistency to the lineup and try to communicate that to our group, making sure everybody understands their role and what this rotation is going to look like moving forward. And it doesn’t mean that it can’t change even after the Miami game. But I’ve got to bring some clarity to the group and our rotations and what this is going to look like.”
If their matchup with Philadelphia is any indication of the direction he’s leaning in, Jalen McDaniels may be the one who has his minutes drastically reduced. Tall and athletic, he’s someone Borrego likes to go to when he wants to add length and create more defensive pressure.
Keeping McDaniels in the rotation will be a chore, especially if Isaiah Thomas remains in the rotation. Thomas provides the Hornets with another dimension when he’s on the floor with LaMelo Ball and allows their All-Star point guard to play off the ball more, which he thoroughly enjoys.
Cody Martin is the first sub off the bench and Kelly Oubre is often called on to provide instant offense, so their roles are probably cemented in. Depth is one of the Hornets’ strengths and it’s imperative for them not to bicker while Borrego sorts through it all.
“Good teams sacrifice,” Terry Rozier said. “You can’t make everybody happy. That’s just what it is. I don’t know if he’s shortening the rotation or whatever it is. But everybody can’t be happy. That’s just the way it goes.
“We need to figure this out, though. Playing it like an AAU team, I don’t think that is the best for us. But we are definitely going to need G. He’s been our key piece since he’s got here. So we need to work around that and figure it out.”
Miles Bridges cited his own situation from last season. He recalled how his duties changed upon Hayward’s initial arrival after signing as a free agent. Those are the kinds of things he’ll be preaching to his teammates as they buckle down for a season-ending week featuring those four games in six nights.
They can’t have egotistical vibes.
“It’s a team sport,” Bridges said. “Everybody comes with sacrifices. I had to sacrifice my minutes when Gordon came my third year. I wasn’t starting at the beginning of the year and as it went on, I started getting minutes. But we’ve just got to sacrifice. Guys have got to be unselfish and we have an unselfish team, so I’m not really worried about that.
“Coach, he’s probably going to shorten the rotation and guys just got to face it. We are working for something bigger. We’ve got to put pride aside and be a team.”
At least they don’t have to worry about Hayward clamoring to have sets run for him. That’s not in his makeup. Hayward’s obligations go beyond scoring anyway.
“Gordon, he’s one of those unselfish players,” Bridges said. “He’s not a guy that is going to come back and be like, ‘Hey, give me the ball.’ So he’s going to get into the rotation slowly. And everybody on the team loves Gordon. So we are going to be good trying to get him into the rotation, get him back in his rhythm. He came back at the right time.”
Seeing how it all transpires should be fascinating.
There’s a fine balancing act the Hornets have to navigate and Hayward is cognizant of interrupting their flow. That’s the last thing he wants to do.
He wasn’t available for them a year ago when a foot injury cost him the final 24 games of the season and he’s not about to watch from the sidelines again if he can help it. He’s pushing through.
“It’s like I’m trying to find myself out there but also trying to not mess up what we have going,” Hayward said. “So it is a little bit difficult. Obviously, there’s a minutes restriction, too, and so the rotations are different. And my foot’s definitely sore right now and it’s trying to figure out how much I can do on the court versus trying to rest it so it doesn’t flare up. You’ve got that whole dynamic, too.
“But I’m going to give this everything I’ve got. We’ve got four games left. So these are the games you want to be playing in. So I’m just going to do my best out there.”
