BOSTON—Six minutes into the NBA regular season, Gordon Hayward was lost to the Boston Celtics: his left leg busted, his ankle dislocated and the team’s dream of a championship run seemingly delayed at least a year.
The Celtics lost that game and the next one, and the once-bright future darkened even more.
But unwilling to cede the season to Hayward’s injury and relying on an undeniable focus on defence, the Celtics have simply become one of the best teams in the NBA, rattling off 11 straight victories heading into a Sunday afternoon date here with the Raptors.