CANTON, MASS. — Gordon Hayward has come a long way.
The Boston Celtics forward still has a long way to go, however, and he knows it.
Hayward is nearly a year removed from the devastating ankle injury that cost him his first year in Boston. Although the 28-year-old is fully healed, he still has much to accomplish before the start of the regular season.
Like, you know, playing actual basketball.
Hayward and his teammates have been playing 5-on-5 pickup games ahead of training camp, which begins Tuesday. And, according to those who have participated, the 2016-17 All-Star looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.
Still, it’s probably fair to say the games have benefited Hayward more than anyone else.
“There’s nothing like playing basketball,” Hayward said Monday at Celtics media day. “There’s nothing like doing in-game stuff that you can’t get from drills. You’re guarding somebody, you’re reacting, you’re getting a rebound and trying to go straight back up with it.
“Those things I can’t really practice. So, to have the ability to do that was really big for me.”
Hayward’s ability to bounce back both mentally and physically from last year’s injury is one the biggest storylines ahead of the new season. But Celtics fans shouldn’t expect him to pick up right where he left off.
“I’m going to follow the progression that the staff has set for me,” Hayward said at High Output Studios. “Whatever that is, if it’s taking certain days off or rest days or whatever. I haven’t talked with them yet, but I’m going to follow that.
“Once they tell me I can do whatever, I’m going to go full speed. … There’s going to be hiccups along the way. I’m going to get beat defensively, I’m going to make mistakes offensively. When you don’t play basketball for a year, those things happen. I have to find my rhythm, find my groove a bit.”
Hayward should benefit from being on a Celtics team that’s accustomed to not depending on him. Boston is returning largely the same roster that made it to last season’s Eastern Conference Finals without Hayward and star point guard Kyrie Irving.
In fact, Hayward believes that some of the Celtics’ young stars — such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier — are ahead of him, at least in one respect.
“You can’t teach experience,” he said. “And for them to have that playoff experience … I mean, you could argue they’re even more experienced than I am, going to the Eastern Conference Finals.”
At the end of the day, the Celtics will be a vastly better team than last year’s version if Hayward is playing like his old self once spring rolls around. In the meantime, Hayward is willing to take things slow and sacrifice for the greater good.
“There’s lots of different roles that I can play, and I’m willing to do whatever so we can accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
