Thoughts on Hayward so far? (UPDATE From Hayward)

[ederson]

I think we all want him to do well, it will come, the mind heals slower than the body.

there is though a chance he won't.  In any case it soon to tell

[CelticsElite]

Hayward interview:
“"Physically, I feel pretty good," Hayward said. "But I don't feel comfortable on the floor yet. It's one thing to be physically able to do everything. It's another to be a basketball player -- the timing and the rhythms. When you've been playing a long time, you just know. But not after you take a huge break, and come back to a new system. The second surgery was such a setback. I was really looking forward to playing 5-on-5 the whole summer. What I'm going through now is what I wanted to do in the summer, but it didn't work out that way."”

Hayward had an unexpected second surgery in late May to remove a plate and screws from around the left ankle he shattered. Hayward wishes he had undergone the second surgery earlier.

"I was miserable," Hayward said. "To go back into a walking boot after all that progress -- back on crutches. That was my lowest moment."

"I felt terrible for him," said Danny Ainge.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24896793/zach-lowe-gordon-hayward-recovery-boston-celtics

[GreenFaith1819]

Take your TIME, GH.

Team is DEEP enough (and talented enough) to bring you along at a good pace.

This isn't a KG-Pierce-Ray window we are working with.

We have TIME on our side, but hurry your butt up, GH

Looking forward to seeing him do THIS stuff very soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinS8LS8TVE

It's gonna come back.

[BigHam]

If I remember correctly, before the season last year, many posters presented statistical evidence that Hayward has a history as a slow starter. This may not be injury related this year, but just his norm.

[gouki88]

If I remember correctly, before the season last year, many posters presented statistical evidence that Hayward has a history as a slow starter. This may not be injury related this year, but just his norm.

I reckon his injury and rust are probably accentuating that too

[CelticsElite]

I’m glad that Hayward has given more details into that setback surgery. Makes more sense now

[SparzWizard]

We could rest Hayward for another month or two to get his ankle fully recovered.

While have a starting line up of:
Kyrie/Brown/Tatum/Horford/Baynes

[hpantazo]

We could rest Hayward for another month or two to get his ankle fully recovered.

While have a starting line up of:
Kyrie/Brown/Tatum/Horford/Baynes

His ankle is fully recovered. Hayward needs court time with the starters to get his timing and endurance back, and build chemistry with his new teammates.

[AshyLarry]

As I said in the "start baynes" thread, he has not passed the eye test and that I'm stuck somewhere between him needing playing time and him coming off the bench while acclimating.

I decided to watch a highlight video from his last year in salt lake, and while they are highlights, he doesn't look like the same player. Very rusty. Like a hooptie in a lake.

[gouki88]

We could rest Hayward for another month or two to get his ankle fully recovered.

While have a starting line up of:
Kyrie/Brown/Tatum/Horford/Baynes

His ankle is fully recovered. Hayward needs court time with the starters to get his timing and endurance back, and build chemistry with his new teammates.

Yeah, he’s definitely not injured still. Just rusty, which wasn’t helped by his unplanned second surgery

[Neurotic Guy]

Serious question here for posters/lurkers with medical/orthopedic/PT background:

We hear that the ankle is healed, but what happens when (at it is when, not if) Hayward jumps and lands on someones foot and his ankle turns.   A normal sprain? 

When people say his foot/ankle are 100% do they mean everything is back to pre-injury status -- is that even possible?

I am cringing thinking about it.

[fairweatherfan]

What he's showing so far isn't very impressive but it's important to keep in mind that what he's showing isn't what he's capable of doing right now, which isn't what he'll be capable of doing in a few months and even longer.  He's still tentative and rusty, and of course playing in the preseason as a vet.

Honestly we probably can't expect him to get to 100% even this season.  So we'll see what we get short of that.

[footey]

Hayward obviously rusty but I have more confidence in his ability to turn things around after his last game. You could see the confidence in his ability to attack the hoop returning. That’s huge.

He’s a very good shooter. His shot will return.

He’s our second best player after Kyrie. Tatum and Brown are both very young and will improve. Hayward has a much more developed all around game, especially as a playmaker, than either of them.

[OhioGreen]

I think many C's fan are forgetting that GH has NEVER been what you'd call a lights out shooter, and has had his periods in his career where his shot has abandoned him for a stretch.  He's only shooting around 25% now, which IS horrible, but he'll be back around his normal 44/36% sooner than later.

[BitterJim]

Serious question here for posters/lurkers with medical/orthopedic/PT background:

We hear that the ankle is healed, but what happens when (at it is when, not if) Hayward jumps and lands on someones foot and his ankle turns.   A normal sprain? 

When people say his foot/ankle are 100% do they mean everything is back to pre-injury status -- is that even possible?

I am cringing thinking about it.

That is generally what 100% means. With ligaments it can be difficult to ever truly be 100%, but a clean break will heal and get you back to 100% if treated correctly. If the doctors say Hayward is 100%, and he feels 100%, then physically there should be no more issue with him turning an ankle than someone else.

The bug thing to watch out for would be how it affects him mentally. If he sprains his ankle soon after returning from a broken ankle, I could see him losing a lot of confidence in his body