Boston Celtics managed to get 1-0 lead in the First Round against Philadelphia 76ers, but it looks like Monday’s win came with a steep price. Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens confirmed on Tuesday that their forward Gordon Hayward suffered an ankle injury against 76ers and will be out for at least four weeks.
Hayward got injured in the fourth quarter of 76ers game, rolling his ankle after landing on teammate Daniel Theis’ foot. The 30-year-old player left the game and was later seen on crutches.
Further test showed that Hayward is dealing with Grade 3 right ankle sprain and will be out of action for about a month.
“He’s bummed, as you can imagine,” said Stevens. ” [He’s] put in a lot of time and effort, and you do so for this time, for the playoffs. That’s what we all look forward to, and we’ve been really lucky thus far in the bubble to have good health and, of course, [after] Game 1 we don’t.”
After struggling two seasons in Boston, Gordon Hayward finally managed to find his footing this season and emerge as a valuable contributor for Celtics. Before the injury, Hayward was averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
Losing this kind of production will be hard to replace, and Stevens is well aware of that. Still, he believes his team will be able to respond in the best way possible.
“I think we can certainly do a lot here, but all that is stuff is to be determined,” he added. “We haven’t gotten into that stuff or that conversation.”
