Getty Gordon Hayward #20 high fives Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics came away victorious in Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday to the tune of 109-101. However, their victory didn’t come without a price.
All-Star forward Gordon Hayward sustained a scary ankle injury on the night, one that led to the 30-year-old being spotted leaving the arena on crutches and his foot in a boot, per the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn.
When head coach Brad Stevens was asked about Hayward’s injury following the game, Stevens admitted that he “doesn’t know the severity” of his injury, but added that he’s “clearly in some pain.”
Now it appears the Celtics have a better idea of the extent of their star forward’s injury.
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Hayward Expect to Miss 4 Weeks
The Athletics Shams Charania has reported that Hayward’s injury has been classified as a Grade 3 ankle sprain and that Boston is expecting him to be out of their lineup for the next four weeks.
Shams also notes that Hayward’s timeline for recovery will weigh heavily on how his swelling and paid reduces over the next few weeks.
Hayward finished Monday night’s contest with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 34 minutes of play. He also chipped in with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. On the season, Hayward averaged 17.3 points per game over his 53 game appearances, ranking fourth behind Boston’s big-three of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker.
Hayward put together one of his more proficient NBA campaigns to date this season, posting a career-best field goal percentage of .500%.
Stevens Voices Concerns in Matching Up With 76ers’ Size
Despite being outrebounded by the Sixers 50-to-43 on Monday, the Celtics did enough on the boards and guarding the post to collect the victory.
Still, while the elimination of injured 6-foot-10-inch all-star Ben Simmons from Philadelphia’s lineup would appear to work in Boston’s favor, coach Stevens clearly remains skeptical about matching up with Philly’s size.
Stevens touched on this matter in detail with members of the media ahead of Game 1, pointing to the 76ers ability to now surround Joel Embiid with four shooters.
Embiid’s one of the best bigs in the league. Horford is tremendous as well. Harris is a big wing, and on down the line. You have big, long guards. I’ve said this a few times this week, Simmons is an outstanding player, but without him they’re posting those guys more and they’ve got four shooters around Embiid all the time. Makes it extremely difficult to play against.
They’re playing great and they have, especially on that end, without Simmons all year. When he plays he just brings a different element and a unique element, but they’re a very, very difficult matchup for anyone, and their size presents challenges on both ends of the floor.