Why Won’t Gordon Hayward be Playing Against the Mavericks?

Gordon Hayward

Getty Gordon Hayward drives to the basket.

So far, the Gordon Hayward benching experiment has yielded mixed results. The team is currently 10-9 on the season and sits at 6th place in the contentious Eastern Conference, but since benching Hayward in an effort to salvage the team’s record they’ve lost 2 out of the 3 games where he hasn’t been in the starting lineup.

It makes sense for a roster change like that to take time to make a difference, and the Celtics’ win over the Hawks yesterday had an emphatic score of 114-96. Hayward contributed 11 points in the win, along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and he’s averaging 15.4 points per game so far this season.


Hayward Will Sit Against the Mavericks

Unfortunately, the Hayward experiment will have to be placed on pause for tonight, as Hayward won’t be suiting up against the Mavericks.

The left ankle that infamously ended his season last year is apparently giving him trouble, and the team is playing it safe as he nurses it back to 100%. Terry Rozier may also be out. He contributes 8.1 points per game on average for Boston.

The two teams will face off tonight at 7:30 pm CST.

READ NEXT: Kyrie Irving: ‘I wish there was more empathy’ for NBA Players