Gordon Hayward takes another step forward in recovery from broken hand

BOSTON — Gordon Hayward’s expected return remains weeks away, but the 29-year-old forward took part in some contact drills on Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery on his broken left hand.

Hayward was cleared for the contact at a doctors’ checkup that occurred three weeks after his initial surgery on Monday.

“It went well,” Hayward said of the appointment. “I played a little kind of like hybrid contact today with coaches and stuff. It’s definitely sore and I think that’s something I’ve got to work through. I’ve got to work through that to make my hand stronger, and hopefully, over the next couple of days, I can do that and get it kind of more the same strength of my right hand. I think it’s going to be a little while, and plus I was right-hand dominant anyway. So it’s definitely going to probably not be the exact same, but get it more strengthened so the percentage is closer to my right.”

“Good. Looks good,” Brad Stevens added of Hayward's recovery. “Cleared for a little bit more today. Did most of practice. We didn’t do anything live. When we went like a controlled live he acted as an official. So, making real strides, I guess.”

The initial Celtics timetable had Hayward projected to return six weeks after the surgery just ahead of Christmas and there has been no adjustment to that plan as of now.

“It’s still hard to say exactly,” Hayward admitted when asked about a return plan. “But we have some good days here at home where I can practice and really do the things I want to do and kind of feel it out and see how it responds. I did a lot on it today, so I think it’s going to be more sore. It might swell up, so hopefully as soon as I’m done here go ice it and get some of the swelling down and kind of just take it day by day.”

The Celtics are scheduled for two more practices in the next seven days in the midst of a three-game homestand, and that, combined with a lengthy break between games on Dec. 12 and Dec. 18, should give Hayward ample time to ramp up his physical activity and test his pain threshold as he recovers in live-action with his teammates.

“Ramping up kind of the live stuff that I’m doing and the contact situations,” Hayward said of his next step. “Making things less structured. Today was a lot more structured, so I kind of know what’s going on. In a game, you can’t do that, so that’s kind of the next step, making stuff more unstructured.”

For now, the goal is not overdoing it from a physical standpoint.

“I did some contact today against coaches,” Hayward said. “I kind of wanted to start there. Coaches aren’t quite NBA players. I know some of them played basketball prior. But before getting to that level I wanted to just kind of get comfortable using my left hand in live situations, which I did today. And that went well, so want to kind of go through the possessions here.”

Hayward is playing without any kind of protection on the hand for now, but the team is going to look into that as an option even though he admits that he never wants to wear anything on his hands. Given how vulnerable the hand will be to contact as he continues to heal more, some added protection could be helpful.

“It’s definitely something where, hopefully not the rest of the season, but certainly for a lengthy part of the season, I’m going to have to continue to get treatment, continue to ice it, kind of manage some of the symptoms,” Hayward said of the pain. “I don’t want it to get hit again, but I’m sure it’s gonna get hit again. When that happens, it’ll be sore, so you manage that. But it’ll be something I’ll deal with the rest of the year.”

For now, with no setbacks in sight, the C’s can feel good about having Hayward back on the court before Christmas and potentially even before that if the next two weeks go well. With a tough schedule looming through December starting with the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, the timing couldn’t be much better.

Other injury notes

Marcus Smart was sent home from practice due to illness by the team’s training staff. He’s also a bit sore from taking a shot to the oblique that sidelined him during Sunday’s loss against the Knicks. For now, the team is listing him as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Heat. Given his poor shooting lately (33 percent from the field over the last eight games), a few days off might serve him well.

“We were just talking about it,” Stevens said of resting Smart. “We’re open to that with any of the guys. We’ve talked to them about it. And if our training staff thinks there’s something that is really nagging a guy then they will certainly suggest it. This is a decision that will be based on if he can get over being sick, which he was pretty under the weather today. And then the oblique, which is obviously, with his past, we’re just alert to. Sounds like it’s just like a contusion, so that’s good, but that doesn’t mean it’s not super sore. And if it’s super sore, he’s not going to play.”

Romeo Langford also remains in Maine with the Red Claws after suffering a sprained ankle during his game on Sunday. Unlike his previous sprain, this one does not require a lengthy rehab process so he will stay with the Celtics G League affiliate.