So if hayward's struggles are mental to any significant extent, does that make them unjustified or intentional or a sign of some sort of character flaw?
Why are struggles due to trauma less valid than struggles due to, say, tendonitis?
I'm quite cautiously optimistic, based on David Locke's take on Hayward on his "Locked On" podcast when Hayward was a free agent (a couple years back), Locked On Celtics, Jackie McMullan's take on the Lowe Post podcast a few weeks back, and the games I've been able to watch.
It's not particularly analytical, but a brief summary of the Locke podcast is basically that Hayward works harder than anyone else. He's worked hard to add new bits to his game every off season - he wants to be a star, and willed himself to beating expectations and becoming a player of his stature through hard work.
So far, physically, Hayward has appeared to be on track, based on Locked On Celtics, the media, and my own viewings of Celtics games. A step slow, but no significant red flags physically.
In terms of timeline, Jackie Mac spoke to players in the league, who told her to expect March 2019 at least as the "real return date" for Hayward physically and mentally.
Based on the above, my gut feeling/hope is that Hayward will slowly break out in the coming months.
The recent games also seem to confirm the above, having taken a step back from being p---ed off at the losses - he'll have flashes, and the flashes will come more and more frequent. In the Grizz win, he looked quite agile and healthy - this makes sense the Grizz are a notoriously slow and deliberate team, and adjusting to the pace of the NBA is the one of the most difficult things for players to get used to by all accounts. I wasn't able to watch the Spurs and Rockets games - but the Spurs are great at picking on weakest links, while the Rockets are a fast paced team.