Kevin Harlan, on the call for the devastating injury, is eager to see Gordon Hayward make his return
"That is No. 1 on my list [Tuesday], to see him back out there after having seen him fall."
Kevin Harlan’s voice confirmed what our stunned eyes told us during the Celtics’ opener last season — that All-Star forward Gordon Hayward, making his team debut, had just suffered a traumatic and ugly injury to his leg.
Harlan is on the call for TNT Tuesday night when the Celtics open this season against the Sixers, along with color analyst Reggie Miller. Like Celtics fans, he is eager to see Hayward make his return and create some fresher memories on the court.
“That is No. 1 on my list [Tuesday], to see him back out there after having seen him fall,’’ said Harlan. “To see him start to play like the All-Star that he is, shake off whatever rust he might have, and get back to playing basketball at a high level, that is something everyone wants.’’
Harlan has called a number of Hayward’s games dating to his college career at Butler University, when the team, led by Hayward and young coach Brad Stevens, made an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament championship game in 2011.
“He’s one of those kinds of players you follow and like and are drawn to, because he’s a great kid and has had a lot of compelling twists in his story — the tournament run at Butler and nearly hitting a winning shot from half-court, becoming an All-Star to the Jazz, reuniting with Brad in Boston,’’ said Harlan.
Harlan has been anticipating calling this game pretty much as soon as the TNT broadcast schedule came out, in part because it offered a sense of closure.
“You’re in the first five or six minutes of the first game of the season, and this catastrophic injury happens, it stays with you for a while,’’ said Harlan. “It does.’’
But in the shock and chaos, Harlan quickly thought of Hayward’s wife Robyn back in Boston, and their young family.
“You knew, in the shock of what happened as he was wheeled off the court, that he was going to be handled immediately and cared for extremely well, even as he was in agony,’’ said Harlan. “But you could hear his screams on the broadcast, and that made me queasy, thinking about what his family must be feeling in that moment.
“I know that someone with the Celtics immediately gave her a call to let her know what had happened and where they would go from there. But on the broadcast, after the initial shock of telling viewers what had happened, there was silence as we let the pictures tell the story.
“And we kind of regrouped, and one of the things we wanted to do is be honest, of course, but also as reassuring as much as we could, knowing his loved ones were watching. It will be great to see him out there again.’’
While Harlan has had this broadcast on his mind, the Celtics-Sixers matchup is far from the only game on his docket this week. Harlan not only has to switch between sports effortlessly from day to day, but media, too. This past Sunday, he had the Ravens-Titans game in Nashville on CBS. Monday, he was in Green Bay to call Packers-49ers on radio for Westwood One. Then he woke up Tuesday morning to come to Boston.
That’s a lot of air miles accumulated in a short time — and there are more to come.
“Let’s see, then Wednesday I fly to Philadelphia to the do the Bulls-Sixers on Thursday [for TNT],’’ he said. “Friday I fly to the West Coast to get the Rams [vs. the Niners], then after that catch the redeye to Atlanta [for Falcons-Giants].
“So it’s one to the next this time of year. I’ve got a great wife who makes sure I stay pointed in the right direction.’’
The hectic schedule does require an adjustment, especially once the NBA season gets rolling.
“You have to make sure you get certain things done on certain days, and that everything is done with a purpose,’’ Harlan said. “The trick is to not allow anything to become a backlog where you get that feeling like you’re behind. Preparation for a particular event should be done, at the very latest, by the night before.
“I guess because I’ve done it so long, and combined the sports for about three decades now at the same time, you get kind of a sixth sense of when something needs attention or whatever it is. It starts with making sure I’ve got my spotting boards and reading the local stories to make sure I have the current heartbeat of the teams.
“As I go from preparing for one game to the next, it’s like dominos. One falls, and another one needs to fall, and another. And once you get to the game, you use the knowledge you have accumulated when the moment calls for it, but let the game speak for itself.’’
