Gordon Hayward Asks Brad Stevens For Basketball, Gets One
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gordon Hayward won't be back on the court for some time, but he still wants to get his hands on a basketball as much as he can. Brad Stevens was more than willing to oblige.
As Stevens told reporters on Monday, Hayward had a specific request for the coach when asked if he needed anything while the Celtics were away on the road.
Hayward wanted a basketball - so Stevens' wife dropped one off.
The coach recently spoke to reporters about advice he received from ex-Pacers head coach Frank Vogel and others on how to approach Hayward's recovery, which still has no timetable for a return. He said that Hayward "may have started chair shooting", which Paul George apparently did after breaking his leg in 2014 while he was with the Pacers.
"He's feeling better, but just beginning the rehab process," said Stevens. "He did some things he was supposed to do outside [Sunday], get outside and into the sun."
Hayward's surgery last Wednesday went well and he is expected to make a full recovery. Despite his hustle, he is unlikely to return this season after fracturing his tibia and dislocating his ankle during the first quarter of the Celtics' season-opening loss to the Cavaliers. But he's doing as much as he can to stay "engaged" during the rehab process, as Stevens described it.
