Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Now that the Boston Celtics’ season is officially over, the team can look ahead to the 2018-19 season, and part of that includes the healthy return of guard Gordon Hayward. On Monday, general manager Danny Ainge provided a very encouraging update on that front.
Ainge said that Hayward is starting to play one-on-one and should be back to playing basketball in the next one-to-two months, per Marc D’Amico of the team’s official website.
Hayward, as you remember, suffered one of the most horrific leg injuries we’ve seen in a long time, just minutes into his Celtics debut after being brought into Boston on a lucrative free-agency contract.
Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens have been pretty tight-lipped about Hayward’s recovery for most of the season, so this update is all the more welcome. Obviously, getting Hayward back for next season will only strengthen what is already a very strong overall roster, which fell just one game short of making it to the NBA Finals this year.