The Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2020 playoffs in seven games, and they did it without the services of small forward Gordon Hayward.
Hayward, who suffered a Grade III ankle sprain in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, is back in the Walt Disney World bubble with the Celtics and has cleared quarantine.
After the Celtics beat the Raptors in Game 7 on Friday, Boston head coach Brad Stevens told reporters Hayward will likely play against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, although he doesn't know when the swingman will make his return.
Via Nicole Yang of Boston.com:
“I think he’ll be back at some point in that series, but I don’t know when,” Stevens said late Friday night, after the Celtics eliminated the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.
During the game’s broadcast, TNT sideline reporter Rebecca Haarlow reported that a person within the Celtics organization told her Gordon Hayward is expected to return “sooner rather than later.” The team had initially ruled Hayward out for at least four weeks following his Grade III ankle sprain suffered in Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hayward averaged 17.5 points per game for the Celtics during the 2019-20 regular season in 52 games. The former Utah Jazz All-Star shot 50.0 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Celtics are certainly excited to get Hayward back, as they will likely need his offensive production to take down Jimmy Butler and the Heat, who have only lost once in the 2020 playoffs.
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