Yeah this looks like the @gordonhayward we remember #comingsoon 🎬🎟️
Storyline: Gordon Hayward Injury
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The Render NBA: First video of Gordon Hayward dunking since his injury
Fred Katz: Brad Stevens told @Chris Mannix that Hayward and Kyrie are both on schedule: “I think [Hayward] and Kyrie will be fully cleared by the time training camp starts and probably well before.”
You’re helping Gordon Hayward as he comes back from that devastating injury that he sustained in the first game of last season. How is Gordon looking and what’s the latest on his recovery? Drew Hanlen: He’s doing really well. He’s up to full-speed workouts now, so he’s able to cut and play and do everything; there are no limitations in his workouts. Then, in the next week or two, he’s going to be able to start competing again, which is awesome because then we can begin to make adjustments and do stuff as he starts playing live – that’s super important so we can make sure everything we’re working on translates into games.
Adam Himmelsbach: Brad Stevens on Kyrie and also Hayward: “I think the whole time, he’s been shooting toward an early-August return to real live-action. So, he should be well ahead by the time we start practice. So, him and Gordon are about the same timeline.”
“Before [Gordon Hayward] left, he was running out on the basketball court,” Danny Ainge told Himmelsbach. “He was back to resuming basketball activities. It feels great.”
Gordon Hayward: It’s not something we were expecting to be a part of this recovery process, but I’m happy to report that I’ll be back out there resuming rehab soon, with my sights set firmly on being back to my usual self for the start of next season.
Gordon Hayward: In fact, the Friday before I had the surgery, I played one-on-one with Brandon Rush in Indianapolis, and felt really good about it. So it was not quite five-on-five, real basketball, but I was starting to ramp it up and was definitely due to get there in short order, and I was getting really excited about that.
Gordon Hayward: Once I get started, I’ll be jogging, then running, and then cutting and moving, and all that could happen within one to two weeks of each other, to where by the end of July I am playing full court, five-on-five basketball. And that’s probably the most exciting thing I could tell all of you.
Fred Katz: Brad Stevens on Kylie’s/Hayward’s rehab schedules: “They’re well on their way to being cleared. I think it’s just a matter of time.” Said his assumption — “and it’s very much an assumption” — is mid-August.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said forward Gordon Hayward is doing “great” following a May 31 procedure to remove a plate and screws from his surgically repaired left leg. “All success,” Stevens said. “Everything is good and pointed toward being back exactly where he was — hopefully pain-free, because that plate is taken out — in the middle of July, which probably points to an early August, mid August fully cleared time frame.”
Jay King: Gordon Hayward recently had the plate and screws removed from his injured fibula. The star hung out at his daughter’s birthday with Aron Baynes. Baynes: “We didn’t talk too much about that. He’s doing well. He was running around with the kids as I was running around with them.”
The Boston Celtics say forward Gordon Hayward had surgery to remove a plate and screws in his broken left leg and will be ready to start next season. Hayward missed almost the entire 2017-18 season after breaking his leg in the first quarter of the season opener. The Celtics reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward today underwent successful surgery to remove the plate and screws that were implanted following the broken fibula he suffered on October 17. Hayward’s ankle and fibula are both structurally sound, and the removal of the plate and screws was necessary as they were causing irritation to his peroneal tendons. He is scheduled to return to basketball activities in six to eight weeks, and is expected to be at full strength for the start of training camp.
Scott Souza: #Celtics Gordon Hayward just arrived for tonight’s #Game7. (NO, he’s not playing).
Jay King: Brad Stevens said Gordon Hayward will be at Game 1 as a spectator.
Gordon Hayward: I know everybody is curious about where things stand with my rehab. It’s all been going really well. I’m happy to report I’m feeling like an athlete again. I’ve been in Indianapolis for the last couple weeks making some really good progress. I leave the hotel every morning at about 9:30 am and don’t get back til about 6 pm. We do a lot of running mechanics, physical therapy, a lift of some sort, and then court work for another few hours. It’s a full day, every day. I’m definitely moving along as planned, and progressing really well.
Chris Mannix: From @GordonHayward’s latest blog post
Jay King: Brad Stevens reiterated Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward should both come back fully healthy: “The injuries stink, but at the end of the day those guys are going to come back fully healthy and their careers won’t be impacted by those at all.”
Jared Weiss: Brad Stevens asked about what phase Gordon Hayward is in working with the running mechanics specialist: “He’s in the running mechanics specialist phase.”
Scott Souza: #Celtics Brad Stevens on Gordon Hayward: We’re just trying to get him ready for Friday’s game … (waits on laughter). He won’t join us in Milwaukee. He’s a long, long, long way from playing.
Gordon Hayward: I’m happy to report I’ve made some solid progress in my recovery the last couple months. The most encouraging thing for me right now is that I’m accomplishing things that I wasn’t able to do before. This process is tedious. But you set these little goals that you have to accomplish, and you just slowly check them off.
Gordon Hayward: I’ve made some significant progress in basketball drills as well. It’s weird to say, but I’m really happy with where my shot is right now. Since the injury, I’ve obviously done nothing but really set-shoot, and my shot feels really, really good. I couldn’t really use my legs for the longest time, so I wanted to try to work on my shot. No matter where I caught it, I shot it.
Gordon Hayward: Unfortunately, the training room has become a lot more crowded over the last few weeks. It seems like one thing after another with injuries these days. Even in the same game, you have Marcus Smart tear a tendon in his thumb and had to get surgery, and that same night, Daniel Theis hurts his knee and he is done for the year. That was unreal. Then you have Jaylen take that scary fall that cost him a couple weeks with the concussion, and now Kyrie needs surgery to clean out his knee.
Jay King: Stevens on Gordon Hayward’s running/jogging video: “The next step of his progression is once every three days he gets on the court and does that. So as you can see it was about 20 percent speed, nothing lateral, no jumping. So a long, long way away.”
Get Ready… 3… 2… 1... @GordonHayward
Jay King: Stevens said Gordon Hayward is running/jogging three times a week. Still can’t do lateral work. Still a long way away. Noted Hayward’s slow pace. Obvious nothing has changed. “He’s not playing.”
Marc D’Amico: #NEBHInjuryReport: Brad Stevens says Gordon Hayward is still restricted to running on the Alter-G treadmill, and is not yet able to run on the court.
Marc D’Amico: Brad Stevens says of Gordon Hayward, “There will be nothing more exciting for him than being able to get back out on the basketball court.”
When asked by Celtics Wire if he’s kept in touch with Hayward, George explained how he tried to help set him up for success and watched him take off. “Yeah, I’ve been in touch with him. I’ve been in touch with him, texting and kind of been watching him from afar, how he’s been progressing. Early on, I was around him more so, sending him messages and talking to him. At this point, it looked like he’s doing really well, just watching him on the court.
George explained how he went through the exact same thing and how he helped Hayward prepare for the massive mental hurdles that are tossed in his way. “That’s one of the biggest things I told him, cause I knew it was going to be frustrating,” George said. “Where you feel like you’re getting better, you’re about to turn that corner and then you’re going to have some setbacks. That’s part of doing so well, putting so much stress on it, that sometimes it’s going to get sore, sometimes it’s going to feel like you shouldn’t have did something. It’s all part of the process.”
Reports of Gordon Hayward’s setback may have been greatly exaggerated. This according to the self-confessed exaggerator, who says now he was mistaken in his choice of words. […] The comment was big news, but Ainge told the Herald it was a little specious, if not fake.
“You know what? Sometimes I talk too much,” said Ainge. “‘Setback’ wasn’t the right word, so let me rephrase that because it’s not exactly true to say it — or say it that way. What happened is he went on the AlterG [anti-gravity treadmill] the first day and he felt some soreness. It was the first day he tried the AlterG, a long time ago. He just wasn’t ready for it at that point. That’s all it was. So I think ‘setback’ is the wrong way to put it. I mis-phrased that.”
“I’m not sure what the right word is, but he wasn’t ready for that. So we waited a couple of weeks before we started that again, and since we started that again it’s been great and he’s progressed along on the AlterG. That’s all. It wasn’t like he had an accident or anything like that. I used the word ‘setback,’ and it became a headline. Like, ‘Oh, setback.’ It got blown out of proportion. It’s my fault. I’m not blaming anybody. ‘Setback’ was probably too strong of a word.”
Jared Weiss: In an appearance on 98.5, Danny Ainge said that Gordon Hayward was progressing too fast in his rehab and had a set back about a month and a half ago, explaining the team’s change in messaging on his return.
Less than a week after Celtics coach Brad Stevens offered his most emphatic “He’s not playing this year” when asked about Hayward’s recovery, Hayward wouldn’t close the door completely on the possibility. “My thoughts are that I take it day by day. And I said that from the very beginning, that’s what I would do, not putting a timetable on it,” Hayward said Friday while unveiling a new gym for students at the Timilty Middle School in Roxbury. “The recovery is going well. I’m progressing well. I was in the facility this morning, will be in the facility tomorrow. And that’s kinda my goal — just really focusing day by day.”
Hayward has said multiple times this season that he was hopeful of being able to return. “The hope is still there,” Hayward said. “It’s something where I’m really honestly not even thinking about it. I know we’re getting toward the end of the year. It’s something that I’m still working toward, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”
Gary Washburn: Gordon Hayward said he is still taking his rehab “day by day.” Has taken “baby jumps,” has not ruled out a return this season but has no timetable. “The recovery is going well. Haven’t thought about (when I would return). Something I’m still working for.” #Celtics
Scott Souza: #Celtics Gordon Hayward on whether he remains “hopeful” for a return this season: “The hope is still there. … It’s something I’m still working for. But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”
Scott Souza: #Celtics Gordon Hayward said he is 70 percent on Alter-G (was at practice facility this morning). Once he hits 80 percent can start running. That’s the next step in comeback process.
Boston will travel to Utah for an ESPN matchup on Wednesday, March 28, but Hayward still isn’t traveling with the team yet as he is unlikely to return this year. “He’s working his tail off and if he could play that would be great but I don’t think that’s really possible,” Gordon Sr. said. “He’s not even running or jumping yet.”
Ramona Shelbourne: I texted some Boston people and everyone who I would be in touch with and ask about it was like, ‘[Gordon Hayward] is not coming back. We wouldn’t do that to him, his career is way too important.’ I know what [Jeff Van Gundy] was saying by calling baloney on all that when he was like, ‘If [Boston] gets to the Finals, [Hayward] is gonna come back and do a Willis Reed.’ All I can tell you is, everyone in Boston that I’ve talked to seems to be saying there’s just no chance they would let him do that or put him in that position.
The day after The Players’ Tribune posted a video highlighting Gordon Hayward’s rehab from a fractured ankle, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens offered his most definitive comments of the year by saying that Hayward will not play again during the 2017-18 season. “He’s not playing this year. I don’t know what else to say,” said Stevens, who has fielded an increased amount of questions about Hayward’s progress in recent weeks.
“Did he dunk?” Stevens deadpanned when told that this was the first time we had seen video of Hayward jumping. “He’s progressing, yes. He did another alter-G [treadmill] workout this morning,” said Stevens. “He’s up to 60 percent of his weight on the alter-G. If you’ve ever run on the alter-G, that feels like you’re flying without your legs touching the ground. It’s great.”
A reporter playfully asked if we should ask Stevens for another update on Sunday. “Yeah, check back tomorrow,” cracked Stevens before jokingly adding, “He’ll be doubtful by Monday.”
Marc D’Amico: Stevens says it’s great to see Hayward’s progress after watching video of him jumping, but adds: “He’s still super long way from even being in a 1-on-1 workout where he’s cutting.”
Gordon Hayward: Patience. One goal. More to come ➡️ @PlayersTribune
Also: Don’t count on Gordon Hayward coming back this season, either. Stevens has been unequivocal when asked about Hayward (“I’ve said all year, not coming back,” Stevens said) and now the calendar is working against him. I saw Hayward before the All-Star break. He’s walking fine, but his ankle was still swollen and still purpleish, which makes it impossible to believe he will be ready to play before mid-April.
Adam Himmelsbach: Stevens says Hayward will start a new regimen on the anti-gravity treadmill on Sunday. Still a while before he’d start traveling with Cs.
Chris Forsberg: Kyrie Irving asked about the possibility of Gordon Hayward returning on The Jump: “I don’t want him to rush back. We need him for years to come. It would be great if he came back this year. Hell, I miss him so much. He knows that. I just want him to do what’s best for him.”
Chris Mannix‏: Brad Stevens, to me, on @dpshow, on Gordon Hayward: “My mindset is he’s not coming back. That’s the way we’ve approached it. Gordon and I have never had a conversation about him coming back.”
Gordon Hayward: Every morning is basically the same. Massage work. Balance work. Lift. Low Load circuit. Conditioning. Stuff on the court. Four or five hours go by. It’s pretty monotonous, and it’s not fun. I’m just trying to get through it. The biggest change is that I’ve been out of the brace for a couple weeks now, and everything is feeling pretty good. It definitely feels good to walk around the house without the brace. The act of walking finally feels normal. That’s really nice. Some of the balancing activities that I’m doing now are kind of an upgrade from the balance activities I was doing before. I’m able to do it for longer periods of time. I’m able to do calf raises for more reps and some weight, like wearing a weight vest. And I am slowly progressing with the AlterG.
Gordon Hayward: On a basketball court, I’m still limited to doing things where I’m basically standing still and then taking maybe one step. Everything is flat-footed. So I can do a dribble pull-up, and though I don’t jump in the air, I still do the dribble and the step. On finishes around the rim, I can do a step and finish, but staying on the ground. That’s kind of where I’m at right now. I’m doing all dribbling drills and passing drills, but just stationary, or slowly walking across the court. I can’t really jump or do any big-time movements like that.
Gordon Hayward: It’s been a few weeks since my last blog entry. I’m deep in the rehab process now, just grinding. Every morning is basically the same. Massage work. Balance work. Lift. Low Load circuit. Conditioning. Stuff on the court. Four or five hours go by. It’s pretty monotonous, and it’s not fun. I’m just trying to get through it. The biggest change is that I’ve been out of the brace for a couple weeks now, and everything is feeling pretty good. It definitely feels good to walk around the house without the brace. The act of walking finally feels normal. That’s really nice.
Gordon Hayward: On a basketball court, I’m still limited to doing things where I’m basically standing still and then taking maybe one step. Everything is flat-footed. So I can do a dribble pull-up, and though I don’t jump in the air, I still do the dribble and the step. On finishes around the rim, I can do a step and finish, but staying on the ground. That’s kind of where I’m at right now. I’m doing all dribbling drills and passing drills, but just stationary, or slowly walking across the court. I can’t really jump or do any big-time movements like that.
Gordon Hayward: The hardest part of all of this is the mental grind. It’s a lot of time doing pretty boring things to get the slightest bit better every day, and of course, sometimes I don’t get better. Sometimes I take a small step back because my ankle didn’t react well to the thing that I did the day before. And so we have to walk it back a little. That’s the hardest part, and the most frustrating part for sure. But you have to keep pushing.
Russell played on 11 of the Celtics’ 17 NBA championship teams. Brown, on a Celtics squad that overcame the loss of All-Star newcomer Gordon Hayward to own the East’s best record, believes this team has the talent to make a run at accomplishing this year what Russell did 11 times. “I’m not surprised at all. Not one bit,” Brown said of the Celtics play sans Hayward. “I think we have a lot of talent. I don’t know if people see it that way. But we have a very talented group with a lot of young guys that can really play. With a good coaching scheme and a balance, I think that’s why we are doing so well. Everybody stepped up.”
Horford added that his hopes for Hayward are more “wish him well” with no pressure among his teammates. Irving agreed. “I just want Gordon to do what’s best for Gordon. That’s it. That’s all,” Irving said. Said Horford: “If he is back this season, we will welcome him with open arms. If it’s next season, we will wait.”
Chris Forsberg: Brad Stevens on Gordon Hayward: “He makes a lot of shots standing still. I mean, a lot. Like, he’s a heck of a standstill shooter now. And he’s really good in a chair, too. But nothing new. We don’t anticipate him being back this season.”
Chris Forsberg: Gordon Hayward got up shots at Staples Center before Celtics-Clippers. A glimpse from our friends at Tencent:
Brian Robb: Al Horford on having Gordon Hayward with team in LA this week: “Any chance he gets around us, it’s good to have him and good to share with him. He’s still a part of this. That’s the cool thing about it.”
Spencer Checketts: When asked if Gordon Hayward would come back this season, Celtics exec tells me “Probably not, but still too early to tell anything. He’s progressing nicely. “
Boston Celtics guard Gordon Hayward is back in the gym shooting 3-pointers — this time, without a chair! — less then four months after a devastating leg injury. His wife, Robyn Hayward, posted a video in an empty gym shooting from behind the arc. The former Butler star isn’t jumping just yet, but he’s still draining the long ball with ease.
Robin Hayward: Still can’t beat me… 🤷🏻‍♀️
Scott Souza: #Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Gordon Hayward has begun doing some light shooting, even took free throw at practice to determine whether C’s would run another drill – he made it so they did not.
Gordon Hayward couldn’t get the image out of his head. Lying in bed at night, the All-Star would close his eyes and try to lull his mind to sleep, but he would see it anyway: his left foot gruesomely bent sideways, the wrong way. Most nightmares are figments of the brain’s imagination. But for Hayward, this horror story was real. “You lay awake, you can’t fall asleep,” Hayward tells B/R Mag, looking back at the first sleepless nights following his traumatic injury in the Boston Celtics’ season opener.
Livingston still sees it. Over a decade has gone by since a 21-year-old Livingston landed awkwardly on his left leg during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats, dislocating his kneecap and rupturing just about every tendon in the knee joint. But even after his two championship runs with the Golden State Warriors, the daily reminders won’t let him forget that image of his deformed knee. But injuries like Hayward’s often rip open an emotional wound. Seconds after Hayward went down, Livingston’s phone inevitably blew up with the news and photos of the injury. But the Golden State guard couldn’t bring himself to watch the clip. “I don’t watch those plays anymore,” Livingston told B/R Mag. “The eyes are the windows into the soul. It’s just a mental standpoint about not putting that stuff into your head.”
“The unfortunate part of it is the reality that [the Celtics] have got to keep playing,” Livingston says of Hayward’s situation. “The league still has games. Contracts are still in order. It’s just part of it. The sooner that you accept that reality, the easier it is to attack the rehab.” There were days when Livingston didn’t want to get out of bed. Wanted to take the day off. But his friend Art Jones knocked on his door every morning and didn’t stop pounding until Livingston got up. “Gordon Hayward can overcome it,” Shaun Livingston says. “He can get back to the same player he was with the right team around him—which I know he’ll have—and the right mindset. There’s definitely no stopping him. This won’t stop him. I know he’s going to get through it. But my line is open.”
Seconds after watching Gordon Hayward’s injury, George fought off the nausea, grabbed his phone and texted his former Team USA teammate. They talked later that night on the phone. George emphasized the mental side during his constant texting to Hayward. Paul George’s message: It’s OK to feel down. “With the nature of the injury, there’s going to be rough days and good days,” George says. “Some days, I felt really good and I felt like I was ready to turn that corner. And then right after that, next day, I felt like I was back at square one. There was pain in the leg again. It was hard to walk, hard to move. It felt like I wasn’t progressing like the previous day. That was the rough patch mentally.”
Tatum and Brown could not replicate Hayward’s ball-handling, so coaches installed more post actions for them. The next night, the Celtics won at Philadelphia, in front of a hysterical crowd. And then a strange thing happened to the contender that supposedly dropped from contention. They didn’t lose again for a month, coming back from 18 points down at Oklahoma City, 13 down in the fourth quarter at Dallas and 12 down in the fourth without Irving against Charlotte. “I think Gordon’s injury made us closer,” says guard Terry Rozier. They were a blast to behold, for everyone but the person who brought them together.
No one expects Hayward to return this spring, but no one completely shuts the door. It’s cracked, because who knows how far Boston will advance and how fast Hayward will mend. In 2006, 76ers forward Shavlik Randolph was practicing four months after a broken ankle, though he wasn’t at full strength for about a year. “I was terrified when it happened that I wouldn’t be able to ever play again because it hurt and looked so bad,” Randolph texted from China, where he is with the Beikong Fly Dragons. “But it did not affect me long-term…. It will be just a matter of how long it takes to get his strength and mobility back. Different people get that back at different rates, but he is an elite athlete with a terrific work ethic, so I don’t see any reason why he doesn’t get all of it back relatively quickly.”
Hayward appreciates any optimism, but he is reluctant to entertain it, not when he is finally sleeping again. “Wishing to be on the court, trying to be on the court, those are the thoughts that kept me up at night,” he says. Cobbs and Randolph cannot relate to the attention focused on Hayward’s ankle, now protected by a small black brace. According to Google, the most-searched athlete in the United States in 2017 has been Floyd Mayweather. Second is Gordon Hayward. He does not venture out in public often, staying home with Robyn and their daughters, two-year-old Bernie and one-year-old Charlie. The family’s German shepherd, Siber, patrols a backyard ringed with pine trees. But Hayward visited two Boston children’s hospitals this month, and as he sat at bedsides and listened to stories, he felt the patients were doing more for him than he was for them. “Man,” he thought, “I’ve got it made. I just broke my ankle. That’s nothing.”
Gordon Hayward: I’m making progress in therapy as well. I’ve been going into the facility every day, and working with the trainers there on a lot of different things. We start with massage therapy and soft tissue work on my whole leg, foot, and ankle, trying to get some of the swelling out. After that, I do some manual resistance stuff, leg extensions, leg curls and that type of thing. The goal there is to achieve better range of motion, and maintain strength in my hips, and my calf, and quad. Next, I do some balance work. Originally I was just balancing on my right foot, but we’ve made progress to the point I’m now able to balance on two feet. The next step is going to be balancing on my left foot. I’m also doing work with that foot to gain strength and range of motion, things like towel scrunches and marble pickups, where you pick the marbles up with your toes and put them into a box.
Gordon Hayward: At the end of the workout, I go to the basketball court and do as much basketball work as I can. I’ve recently started to do some stuff standing up, so I don’t have to use the chair to shoot anymore. I can just shoot with the boot on, staying straight up. It’s non-movement stuff for now, but I can handle the basketball just standing straight up and do different drills like that.
It’s Gordon Hayward injury update week here on Celtics Wire, with the man himself joining the Dan Patrick Show to dive into his mentality surrounding his recovery from a broken ankle. Do you need to wait until you feel mentally the same as you did before the injury? Gordon Hayward: “That’s 100% true. The play that we ran there, I’ve done that play maybe 60-70 times next year. I think when I’ll be 100% is when I’m able to run that exact same play and not think about it twice. That’s another hurdle at the end there where I may be physically 100-percent, but I have to be mentally there as well.”
How realistic is getting back or is it just a mindset to prepare for this year? Gordon Hayward: “I work out every day to try to increase my range of motion and increase my strength in my legs so that I can be back as fast as I can. Whether that’s this year or this summer or next year, I will just let that happen. But for sure, as a competitor, I’m just trying to come back faster than anyone has ever done it. They keep me to a pretty strict protocol, so that’s just what I do.”
In an interview with Sirius XM’s Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson, the Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations discussed how Hayward is working to pick up where he left off at some point in the future. The answer as to when that may happen is still as opaque as it was a few months ago. “I don’t even want to go there. I’m not sure. That’s just all speculation,” Ainge said when asked if he could just come back in the postseason if he’s healthy. “Gordon – he didn’t rule it out – but we’re all just sort of are not putting any pressure. We’re just letting the course take itself and we’ll see what happens. But he’s coming along quickly.”
Jared Weiss: Gordon Hayward asked if he expects to start traveling with the team after New Years: “I’ll expect to travel when I’m able to. Right now, my focus is rehab and trying to get all the right training, right work, so when I travel it will be when I’m able to.”
Eric Woodyard: Gordon Hayward on decision to leave Utah: “I don’t regret anything. Unfortunately, I got injured but I’m happy to be here in Boston and I’m happy to be apart of this team.”
Andy Larsen: Hayward: “I wish I was out there. It makes it harder just to sit back and watch. This was a game I had circled, and I know they did. In front of now my home crowd, it would have been a lot of fun. I’m just going to watch and see those guys (Jazz players) afterward.”
Gary Washburn: Gordon Hayward said he isn’t counting out returning this season but he will focus on his rehab. Wearing a brace on his left left. #Celtics
A. Sherrod Blakely‏: Still no official word yet on whether #Celtics Gordon Hayward is done wearing a boot. Source told NBC Sports Boston today that if not today, he’ll be done with the boot sometime “in the coming days.” But they added, no timetable for his return.
More than 50 days have passed since Hayward suffered his grisly injury, and on this night there are few obvious signs that it happened at all. His cast was replaced by a walking boot after two weeks, and now the walking boot is gradually being phased out in favor of a small, nonintrusive brace, which he is wearing now. Last week, he was told he did not need crutches anymore. On the court, he can now stand still and shoot baskets, a major step after weeks of firing them from a padded chair. As the Celtics stormed to a 22-5 start, it became tantalizing to wonder what they might be with Hayward. And given his consistent progress, and the fact that more than four months remain in the regular season, it is impossible not to wonder if there is a chance, however slim it might be, that he could be back this year.
Hayward admits that he thinks about it, too. But he immediately cautions that there can be dangers in looking far ahead. He has made this progress by tackling obstacles one by one, and he knows the last, most massive one remains distant. But yes, of course he is aware of it. Of course he would like to play for the Celtics this season. “It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Hayward said. “I’m definitely pushing to get back as fast as I can, while making sure that I still have a lot of good years of basketball in me. And coming back early and hurting something else is not part of that plan. So I’m making sure that if I come back, I’m one-thousand percent confident in myself and my leg. I hope more than anything I can play this season. That would be awesome. But that’s not something I’m stressing about. I’m stressing about what I can do today to help myself get better.”
August 15, 2018 | 2:11 pm EDT Update
Dwyane Wade: Fake News
Ryan Ward: Jeanie Buss on LeBron James (1/2): “He has proven to be a leader amongst his peers. He is making a decision to change lives & to invest in the young people in his community where he grew up where he knows he can make a change…” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
Ryan Ward: Jeanie Buss on LeBron James (2/2): “…he knows that buy investing dollars & showing that leadership that it will encourage others, his peers, to do likewise.” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
Ryan Ward: Jeanie Buss: “Drafting players like Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball and the continued development of Brandon Ingram, you can see what Laker basketball stands for.” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
Ryan Ward: Jeanie Buss: “Coach Luke Walton has done a great job getting everyone to buy into what his vision is, and so now we have an identity” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
Ryan Ward: Jeanie Buss: “For a while, it was hard for me to see what Laker basketball was because we were changing coaches every 18 months.” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
