Gordon Hayward’s gruesome ankle, lower-leg injury has derailed his debut season with the Boston Celtics, but the ailment could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Hayward suffered the injury just five minutes into the Celtics’ regular-season opener Oct. 17, and there’s a good chance it will keep him out for the duration of the campaign. But while Hayward’s basketball activities currently are limited, this doesn’t mean he hasn’t been refining his game.
Speaking with ForTheWin on Tuesday, Hayward explained how the injury has forced him to work on and harness various skill sets.
“For the first month and a half, I wasn’t able to stand on my foot, so I did a lot of stuff out of a chair,” he said. “So just like around the rim, different spins and flicks you can do, kind of the stuff Kyrie Irving does naturally. I’ve been able to work on the left hand with passing out of a chair. In the weight room, it’s a lot of range of motion stuff like stretching and mobility, things that I definitely needed to do on my right leg.”
Hayward has shown gradual progression since going down two months ago. He’s gotten shots up from a chair, and as of last week, he’s ditched his walking boot and has been able to walk without a glaring limp. While the star forward hasn’t closed the book on a possible return this season, he wants Celtics fans to table their expectations.
“It’s definitely a long process,” he said. “People see me coming out of a boot (and think) that I’m about to play in the next month. That’s definitely far from the truth. I’m right on schedule, where the Celtics want me to be.”
