Gordon Hayward's recovery process has been the result of the never-ending support he's received from his family, friends, and those in the NBA family that have showered him with advice on how to best tackle such a daunting process after suffering a freak injury.

Among the most vital to reach out was Paul George, who suffered a similarly crushing blow after breaking his leg in 2014 when playing in a scrimmage for Team USA.

George took nearly the whole season to recover, playing only six games at the end of 2014-15 to test out his capabilities. As he sees it, Hayward is en route to a similar future.

“He's doing a lot better. I think at this point, he don't need me,” said George with a smile, following a gut-wrenching loss to the Boston Celtics in a game that went down to the wire, according to Bill Doyle of The Worcester Telegram.

Hayward has encountered his share of setbacks during his recovery, after dislocating his ankle and breaking his tibia after a horrendous fall from a backdoor alley-oop play in the first few minutes of his season-opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ever after his surgery, Hayward has been laser-focused on his recovery, still maintaining hope to come back at some point in the season.

“That's one of the biggest things I told him. I know it's going to be frustrating where you feel like you're getting better, you feel like you're about to turn that corner and then you're going to have some setbacks,” said George. “That's part of it.”

The Celtics are unlikely to take any chances with Hayward and would rather have him make a full recovery than trot him out and risk the possibility of re-injury. But even if he comes back next season, George is expecting Boston's new acquisition to pick up right where he left off.