Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has pointed to a late-November practice session as the turning point for Gordon Hayward.
The former Utah Jazz forward really struggled to start the season, following his year-long injury absence, but exploded to score 30 in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Of course, the Celtics can expect some more lows after Hayward's massive night - he only scored 8 against the New York Knicks on Thursday night - but the team has improved overall and look to be headed in the right direction.
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"Gordon is overcoming a lot of different things," Ainge during an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Thursday (h/t NBC Sports). "And one of them is just trying to fit in ... and how much he should be trying to do with a team that's talented.
"It was more just like, 'Go take it. Go take the opportunity that you have and make it work instead of trying to feel your way through it and fit in with the team. No, go be Gordon Hayward."
Ainge revealed that the Celtics saw more of the "old Hayward" during a scrimmage session last month, ahead of his monster night against the T-Wolves.
"He had one practice last week that was I think very inspirational," Ainge continued. "Not just to him, but it was inspirational to the whole team, where he did that very thing.
"He was a dominant player in practice. He wasn't just a good player and improving. He was dominant. And I think he turned the corner there a little bit.
"I think Gordon is going to be a player that's better in the second half of the year than he is right now. He's going to continue to make improvement. ... I think we're going to see a more consistent Gordon than we have this first month and a half."
What This Means
Hayward's return to form has coincided with the team's recent success. Brad Stevens' troops have won four games on the bounce and will look to extend that run to five when they face the struggling Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
While the Celtics hardly needed Hayward during their march to the Eastern Conference Finals conference last season, it's now clear that they need him to be at his best to achieve any success this term.