Just one year following his gruesome ankle injury that sidelined him the entire 2017/18 season, Gordon Hayward made his return to the court this preseason with the Celtics. He appeared in three contests, working to regain his footing and talent that helped him become a top small forward in the league before the injury.
The Celtics refuse to rush the process of his return, allowing Hayward to control his pace and progression as Tuesday’s season opener against Philadelphia nears.
“I think Gordon will probably be a little limited early from a minutes standpoint,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “Not in any big way, but we’ll probably have to manage that just because he’s been out for so long.”
Despite the possible limitation, Hayward is expected to play in back-to-backs this season, Stevens added. The same goes for teammate Kyrie Irving, who underwent knee surgery in April. With a healthy Hayward and Irving, the Celtics are expected to be at the forefront of contention in the East.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie believes he should have won the Most Improved Player award last season, clarifying his comments in a detailed quote to The Athletic’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Indiana’s Victor Oladipo won the award, with Clint Capela finishing second and Dinwiddie coming in third.
- Treveon Graham is making a serious case to be given more playing time, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Graham has provided physical defense for the Nets this preseason, nearly leading the team in plus/minus.
- The 76ers have lofty expectations for the upcoming season, a situation the team hasn’t been accustomed to facing until this point, Keith Pompey of Philly.com details. The emergence of Markelle Fultz, the return of J.J. Redick, and the experience Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid now have could propel the Sixers to a top seed in the East.
jaylen brown was top 3 most improved – borderline all star
He had a good season but was nowhere near an all star. He averaged 14.5 points a game and had a PER of 13.. I would argue Ingram made a bigger jump from year one to two.
So would most irrational people who don’t look at the defensive side of the ball. Brown is leaps and bounds above Ingram in development
Dinwiddie is not wrong. There’s different ways “most improved” could be interpreted, and one interpretation would see him as the winner.
One league not too long ago, i forget which one, suspended the award for a while because it kept going to recovering drug users!
Dinwiddie did not improve more than Oladipo or Capela and it’s not close.
If Fultz doesnt post ‘ROY worthy numbers’ then the sixers will need to seriously push hard to trade for Damian Lillard bc there are only 5 free agents that can actually upgrade this roster. Boogie, Kawhi, Butler, Kyrie and Kemba. Klay and KD rnt going anywhere. Get dame and one will come.
I love how, despite being spurned by LBJ, Paul George, Cousins and every other notable free agents this off season, Philly fans still think Philadelphia an appealing draw.