Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward had a successful return to the team after being sidelined by surgery. However, the forward wants to do more by being involved in the coming back-to-back games.
The C's will be playing against the Indiana Pacers on December 11, to be followed by a tough home game against the Philadelphia 76ers the next day. Given Gordon's injury history, it would be understandable if head coach Brad Stevens would prefer to control the forward's minutes and keep him healthy in the long run.
It's also easy to see why the Butler product wants to keep playing in the league. The only way he can prove his good health is by playing through the regular season like any other NBA player.
He told NBC 10 Boston host Adam Kaufman of his plans to play.
Gordon Hayward told @tvabby he's planning to play both games of the #Celtics' upcoming back-to-back Wed/Thurs
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) December 10, 2019
Based on his performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it's not a bad look for the Celtics to give him the start. Through 26 minutes of play, Gordon Hayward had a line of 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. While these numbers below his season averages (18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists), this performance proves to Stevens and the rest of the Celtics staff that he's back in full health.
The man himself felt good with his game, though he could have been in better shape if he wasn't injured.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “Toward the end, especially at the end of the third quarter, I was, for sure, gassed. That's something that no matter how much cardio you do, you've got to just play through the game sometimes and get that game conditioning back, so I'm working on that.”
With the way he's been playing, Hayward may get his wish.
Follow Us
Subscribe