Gordon Hayward didn’t know precisely what happened when he ran into LaMarcus Aldridge late in the second quarter Saturday night, however he realized something wasn’t right.
“You always think about the worst-case scenario,” Hayward said Wednesday night when he tended to the media just because since experiencing medical procedure to fix a break of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand before the Boston Celtics facilitated the Washington Wizards at TD Garden.
“Certainly on the play, I didn’t know exactly what happened. But I heard it and felt it, and knew something immediately was wrong. That’s why I signaled, ‘Let’s go check this out.'”
It turned out Hayward, 29, would require surgery, which he effectively experienced late Monday evening in New York. While he should sit out for around an additional a month and a half as a result of it, Hayward said he was mitigated his nonappearance wouldn’t be fundamentally more.
“It’s hard to know [how long you’ll be out],” Hayward said. “After looking at the X-ray, it was clear as day that it was broken. Nowadays, you don’t know what that necessarily means … it depends on where the break is and how long it can be.
“I’m just happy that I relatively got good news, and I shouldn’t be that long.”
Hayward, who viewed from the seat in road garments Wednesday night when the Celtics beat the Wizards 140-133, has been Boston’s most predictable player to begin the season, averaging 18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds back and 4.1 assists eight games this season for the Celtics, while shooting 55.5% generally and 43.3% from 3-point extend. He has been commended by scouts who’ve seen him play in the early proceeding to have profited by an offseason completely devoted to chipping away at his body and game, as opposed to rehabbing as he was the previous summer.
That recovery was important on account of the all-inclusive nonattendance Hayward managed from the grim leg and lower leg wounds he endured six minutes into his first game as a Celtic – the season opener of the 2017-18 battle in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. That damage prompted two distinct surgeries and the better piece of a year doing combating just to get back onto the court – trailed by an uneven 2018-19 season as he attempted to shake the rust off from his all-inclusive time away.
In the wake of experiencing that, Hayward conceded that this recuperation – while surely terrible – isn’t so overwhelming to need to confront.
“It’s a drop in a bucket for sure,” he said. “Obviously frustrated. It’s going to … it sucks watching, and not being able to go out there and play, especially with the start that we’ve had.
“I think this time around, I’ll be able to run around, use my legs still, maintain my conditioning, which I’m very thrilled about, and then be around the team, too. And kinda stay involved, which is good.”
Hayward was sporting a beautiful support – just as being embellished with stickers of little dogs and unicorns – because of the masterful abilities of his girls. However, he said he was glad that he didn’t need to wear a cast, and that he’ll be returning to New York on Friday to ensure everything is mending true to form. Be that as it may, he said he was upbeat about the reality it was his left hand, so he could keep shooting while he’s out, and that he can likewise keep his molding set up while he stands by to come back to the court.
He likewise said that a stick and plate were taken care of in his grasp to help speed the procedure up – and even split a joke about that being something to be thankful for, after he required a second surgery on his lower leg a year ago.
“They put a pin and a plate in there, but that supposedly makes it stronger and makes it heal faster,” he stated, before including with a smile, “I think that’s a good thing this time around.”
Concerning to what extent Hayward will really be out, he said he isn’t concentrating on a timetable, but instead staying on course the Celtics have spread out for him to recuperate and get back on the court.
“I think we’ll take it, as cliché as it sounds, we’ll take it day by day and week by week,” he said. “It’s one of those things that once the bone is healed, then it’s kind of how much can you tolerate and how well does my body handle with the swelling, kind of how well it takes ramping up activities and doing different basketball things.
“Honestly, looking at the plan that we set up today and just kind of attacking each day. Hopefully I’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Rainier Watchdog journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
