Celtics' Eastern Conference title chances take hit with Gordon Hayward out 4-plus weeks

The Boston Celtics won Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Monday over the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-101. There were two concerning pieces of news from that, however. The Celtics had to rally in the fourth quarter against a Sixers team missing All-Star Ben Simmons, and Boston saw starting forward Gordon Hayward leave with an ankle injury. That was revealed to be a Grade 3 sprain Tuesday, and Hayward is expected to miss at least four weeks. The ankle is not the one he gruesomely fractured in the season opener in October 2017.

That injury is obviously troublesome for third-seeded Boston's chances to emerge from the Eastern Conference and could be a huge boost to second-seeded Toronto for a potential East semifinals matchup vs. the Celtics. Boston is currently a +500 third-favorite on the William Hill moneyline odds to win the East, behind Milwaukee (-160) and Toronto (+320).

Hayward averaged 17.5 points (50 percent shooting from field), 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season and had 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 34 minutes of Game 1 vs. Philly. Boston outscored the Sixers by 10 points with Hayward on the court.

Marcus Smart will likely replace Hayward in the starting lineup with Grant Williams picking up more minutes off the bench. Hayward had planned to leave the Orlando bubble next month when his wife is due to give birth but then re-enter it after the necessary quarantine.

Boston probably is deep enough to beat the 76ers in this round – and the C's are 4.5-point favorites for the NBA odds for Game 2 on Wednesday -- but perhaps not the Raptors in the next one sans Hayward. The conference finals are tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 15, which almost four weeks from Tuesday. The SportsLine Projection Model (below) doesn't see Hayward as a major loss. 

Hayward may have played his last game for the Celtics as he has a player option for the 2020-21 season, although most expect him to exercise it considering it's for a whopping $34.1 million. Hayward is a fine player but not worth $34.1 million. 

Before setting your NBA DFS lineups on daily Fantasy sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, you NEED to see what Mike McClure has to say. McClure is a daily Fantasy pro with nearly $2 million in career winnings.