When you miss a year of basketball like Boston Celtics small forward Gordon Hayward did last season, you're not just going to come back and immediately start playing well against the best players in the world.

Hayward suffered a fractured left ankle in the Celtics’ season-opening loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 17, 2017 and, so far this season, it has been a struggle for the swingman.

Entering Thursday, Gordon Hayward is averaging 10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 40.0 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from beyond the arc and 85.0 percent from the free-throw line. Hayward is coming off the bench now in an attempt to find his groove and develop some rhythm against bench players.

Hayward, averaging just 8.9 shots per game, says he still feels lost sometimes on the court:

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“I think there are times I feel good out there on the court,” Hayward said, via Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “And then there are other times where I feel a little lost, like I’m just floating out there.

“I need to just be more aggressive for myself, which I think it will help our team out. I’m trying to make the right play a lot of times and sometimes that gets me in trouble. It’s about imposing my will on the game, and sometimes you just have to go attack it. I need to do more of that.”

Over the summer, Celtics legend Paul Pierce said he expected Gordon Hayward to have a rough start to the season and then ease his way back into his regular form after the All-Star break. It's going to take time for Hayward to be the player the Celtics are paying max money. He probably won't even get to that level this season.