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The Roar

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Sometimes, basketball sucks. Just ask Gordon Hayward

Boston Celtics' Gordon Hayward after breaking his ankle. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Roar Rookie
18th October, 2017
12

NBA opening night is meant to be a cause for celebration, but one play in the first game of the season changed that.

The play itself, at the six-minute mark of the Boston-Cleveland game, was innocuous enough. A Gordon Hayward back cut, a lob pass to the rim, Hayward rising to try and catch it while wedged between two defenders.

Then, an awkward landing. At first, the play continued around him, but the referees quickly stopped the play when they saw Hayward hunched over on the ground.

That’s when the camera panned to Hayward for a split second, before the TNT team realised exactly what had happened, and fans at home saw the full extent of the damage.

Without going into the details, it was gruesome.

Hayward has since been diagnosed with a fractured ankle. It is not yet known how long he will be out for, but at this stage, you just have to hope that he’s doing okay.

As a fan, it was a shock to the system. The anticipation for opening night had been building through the whole offseason. I know I was as excited about the NBA as I have been in a long time.

As soon as Hayward’s injury flashed on the screen, that all disappeared. The excitement was replaced by a sick emptiness.

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Boston Celtics' Gordon Hayward grimaces in pain after breaking his ankle

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

I’m sitting at my desk watching the last minute of a close game, a game that is everything I was hoping for in the first game of the season. Except it just feels off.

If that’s how I feel, as nothing more than a fan of the game, then how must the players be feeling?

Many from the Cavaliers would know Hayward personally. Boston’s players just spent the whole summer working out with him, getting to know their new teammate, getting stronger together and dreaming about a championship next June.

How do you keep playing after seeing him like that?

And what about Hayward’s family and friends watching at home? How must they feel, seeing someone so close to them helpless and on the ground on their TV screens?

Most importantly, how must Gordon Hayward himself be feeling? A whole offseason of hard work, and potentially a whole season of his basketball career, have been squandered thanks to a freak accident that no one could have prevented.

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Injuries are a part of sports, and players and fans expect them to happen. But when an injury so graphic happens so early and is broadcast to the world, it’s a sobering reminder of how fragile professional athletes and their careers can be.

The excitement for the NBA will return, as will Gordon Hayward, hopefully as strong as ever.

Most of the time, basketball is the best thing in the world.

But sometimes, it really, really sucks.

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