BOSTON -- The day after Gordon Hayward fractured his ankle during the Boston Celtics' season opener in Cleveland, FiveThirtyEight ran an adjusted season simulation that determined the Hayward-less Celtics projected at 36.6 wins.
While jarringly low, it probably shouldn't have been all that surprising. The Celtics had just lost one of their most versatile stars and were moving forward with a roster on which seven of the 15 available bodies were rookies. FiveThirtyEight's CARMELO projection wasn't very bullish on the new-look Celtics before losing Hayward, and his absence trimmed 10 wins from the initial forecast.