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Gordon Hayward Out for 4 Weeks with Ankle Sprain

Boston Celtics power forward Gordon Hayward suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain after landing on teammate Daniel Theis’ foot. During Monday’s victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. Hayward will miss four weeks, which is the playoff schedule. 

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens spoke about the disappointing news.

“He’s bummed, as you can imagine. He’s put in a lot of time and effort, and you do so for this time, for the playoffs,” said Stevens. “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 but that’s part of it. We’ve lived this before and we’re going to have to have other people step up. That’s why you have a team.”

Hayward is paramount to the Celtics’ offensive. This season Hayward has offered 17.5 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. In Game 1, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored a combined 61 points. Both are prone to blitzing. Kemba Walker also provides 20.4 points and 4.8 assists per game. Walker is smaller than most players but has the ability to forcefully drive to the basket. However, Walker has been battling a past knee injury. Marcus Smart is the best defender on the Celtics. Smart could assist in Hayward’s absence with additional rebounds and assists. However, the rest of the team does not have playoff experience.  

With Ben Simmons out for knee injury, the Celtics ideally would have tremendously overscored in Game 1 against Philadelphia. Joel Embiid finished Game 1 with 26 points and six rebounds. The greatest hurdle for the Celtics in this series with the Philadelphia 76ers is not only Embiid, but Al Hortford. The former Celtic is well aware of this team’s strengths as the past mentor. Horford had the most success guarding Jaylen Brown in Game 1. 

Ultimately the Celtics have the tools to win this series without Gordon Hayward. 

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