Gordon Hayward is now healthy, but the Celtics are not rushing anything in his return to the lineup. After almost a year of rehab following a horrific injury in their first game of the season last year, Hayward will be back to play for the Celtics' who are the definite favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference to play in the NBA Finals.
In a tweet from the Celtics' official Twitter account, it seems the franchise will put Hayward in a minutes restriction as he continues to work to get his old form.
Brad Stevens says that Gordon Hayward may be limited a bit from a minutes perspective at the start of the regular season, but he and Kyrie Irving are expected to play in back-to-backs.
The Celtics can afford to give a guy like Hayward a minutes restriction like this because they have a boatload of guys that are surely capable to step in and play productive minute at the wing positions.
Jayson Tatum will be looking to come back stronger after a terrific rookie season. Jaylen Brown has come into his own and made himself one of the premiere young talents to watch. Terry Rozier will be playing more 2-guard minutes now that Kyrie Irving is back.
Also, the Celtics don't necessarily need Hayward to be his full self until probably the playoffs. With the team's talent and depth they will probably won't have any issues in the regular season. His value will be tested in the postseason where they look to finally get a NBA Finals berth after falling short the past few seasons.
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