Gordon Hayward Injury: Brad Stevens Encouraged By Celtics Star’s Progress

Hayward has been out since spraining his ankle in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs

Gordon Hayward's recovery continues to trend in a positive direction.

The Celtics forward has been out since spraining his ankle Aug. 17 in Boston's first-round NBA Playoffs series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hayward, initially given an approximately four-week recovery team, recently resumed rehabbing in the Walt Disney World NBA bubble and, according to Brad Stevens, should play against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Stevens on Monday offered another encouraging update on Hayward's status.

Check out this tweet from Forbes' Chris Grenham:

"He didn't go through our normal practice. He went through a hard pep workout, what we call our small group workouts, after practice. He looked good when he was going through it, but there's a big difference between doing that and actually getting into a game."
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) September 14, 2020

While the Celtics looked strong without Hayward in their second-round triumph over the Toronto Raptors, they likely will need the versatile forward's varied skill set against a strong, skilled Heat team.

Boston and Miami will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Game 1 of the conference finals.

Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images