PHILADELPHIA -- With three games in three different cities over four nights to start the regular season, Brad Stevens hasn't had much free time on his hands this week. Still, he was able to spend some meaningful time with Gordon Hayward on Thursday after the All-Star forward underwent successful ankle surgery on Wednesday night.
"I was over (at the hospital) for a while and tried to maintain consistent contact," said Stevens. "He's, obviously, post-surgery having some of the post-surgery challenges of pain and everything else. But the surgery went great. His spirits were pretty positive (on Thursday).
"We talked a little bit about how to approach the next five months with maintaining that positivity. Different ways to stay engaged, different ways to approach this, to attack this, and he was ready to get started on his rehab the minute he got out of surgery."
The reference to five months is something that certainly caught my ear when hearing Stevens' remarks in person and would line up with the analysis of BSJ medical expert Dr. Jessica Flynn on a potential recovery timetable for Hayward of 4-6 months from his injury.
With that said, it's obviously far too early for fans to get excited about the prospect of Hayward returning this season. The Celtics won't close the door on the possibility publicly but there is a reason that Hayward's agent deemed it unlikely when speaking with reporters in the past couple days. There can be setbacks over the course of the next few months and it's better for everyone involved if there isn't any added pressure on Hayward to beat out a recovery timetable projection. The Celtics are heavily invested in the 6-foot-8 forward for the next four seasons, not just 2017-18, so it's safe to guess they aren't going to send him out there this year if he's not at or close to the 100 percent mark.
Still, Stevens said five months for a reason in his remarks and it's worth keeping that timespan in your head while tracking Hayward's progress over the season to come.
One other intriguing tidbit from Stevens on Hayward's upcoming rehab includes the fact that he has already reached out to former Pacers head coach Frank Vogel for ideas for Hayward's rehab. Vogel coached Paul George went the All-Star went down with a serious leg fracture that forced him to miss 76 games of the 2014-15 regular season.
"I think this is one of those things where, it's easy to kinda hole up, right, when you're going to be out a long time," said Stevens. "You're excited because you anticipate a full recovery but I think it's really important to just be active, and to be as active as you can.
"I called Frank Vogel the day I drove to the gym when we played Milwaukee and just asked him, 'What are some of the things that Paul did in his year off that you would really encourage? What are some of the things that we should be looking?' And, hey, (Hayward is) going to be the best guy shooting out of a chair with his left hand with his right hand, perfect his form, and let's have fun, let's come up with creative ways to attack this thing."
Other shootaround notes:
- Marcus Morris is still traveling with the team and targeting a return date later next week: "About another week," Morris said when asked about when he'll be back. "Every day it’s getting better, work hard and put more pressure on it. I’ve done a lot of conditioning, so my shape is better. Hopefully trying to get back next week."
- Jabari Bird remains with the team for the second straight game on the active roster. Bird will give the Celtics 12 healthy bodies tonight if Smart can't go.