Celtics-Heat Notebook: Gordon Hayward's return remains unclear, Game 1 set for 6:30 Tuesday night

Gordon Hayward was back on the practice court with his Celtics teammates for the first time since finishing his quarantine in the Orlando bubble on Sunday afternoon.

Hayward has missed nearly a month since suffering a Grade 3 ankle sprain in Boston’s first game of the postseason last month. He rehabbed away from the team with his family for much of August, but has now returned to Orlando as he gets closer to a potential return.

“He did a couple of non-contact, very light drills," Brad Stevens said after practice. "He’s out there doing individual work right now, but none of the stuff with any groups.”

The Celtics originally estimated a four-week absence for Hayward since suffering the injury on August 17, but several NBA players have been sidelined longer than that with a Grade 3 ankle sprain. Stevens confirmed that Hayward would return at some point during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, but when that will be still is unclear.

“Since I’ve seen him last, it’s good progress," Stevens said. "I know he feels better. He’s worked hard to get to where he is and I think he’ll play at some point in this series. As far as predicting a timeline, I have no idea. But I feel like he’s made good progress and will play eventually.”

Hayward has had a lot of success against the Heat this year. He averaged 22 points and 8 rebounds per game against Miami while shooting 55 percent from the field over two games. He also shot more free throws per game (8) against them than any other opponent. However, with his availability still unclear just two days away from the series, it will be intriguing to see how he’s used by Stevens when he's cleared to play. Marcus Smart is going to be essential in this series from a defensive standpoint, so it’s hard to envision him being moved to the bench for Hayward after a month-long layoff for the swingman.

Instead, I’d say it's a safe guess that we will see Hayward coming off the bench, at least initially in this scenario. That will allow Smart to spend more time on the Heat’s more dangerous offensive weapons (Butler/Dragic) and give the Celtics some leeway to see how much Hayward can handle. Given that he’s still only taking part in individual drills, I’d be shocked if we see him in Game 1. A return sometime next weekend sounds more realistic.

Game 1 time set at 6:30 p.m. for Tuesday night

The Nuggets beat the Clippers on Sunday afternoon to force a Game 7, which means the Celtics-Heat Game 1 matchup will be back into an early time slot on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. After a day off on Saturday for the players, the Celtics coaching staff got to work on Sunday putting in the gameplan for a Miami team that has gone 8-1 in the postseason so far.

“Well it’s quite a balance because we need a couple of days to feel our best and to play our freshest so that the extra time helps in that regard,” Stevens said. “We also have to get ready for a great team. We took today and went pretty light, yesterday off, so it’s mostly mental reps that far. We’ll go a little harder tomorrow and be ready to play on Tuesday. But I think we got a lot done today. Talked about things that we thought were most important to start the series out well and we know we’ve got our hands full.”

The Celtics have only played once against a revamped Heat team since overhauling a huge part of their roster since the trade deadline. The acquisitions gave Miami a pair of versatile wings that allow them to spread the floor even more and switch effectively defensively within the starting and bench units.

“The Iguodala and Crowder acquisitions at the trade deadline were huge, and you knew that right when they happened,” Stevens said. “I think that the opportunity for them to play small ball with even more versatility and to surround those shooters with more skill but also guys that could guard the best players on the other team for multiple possessions or end-of-games or those types of things has added a great deal to their team. Both those guys are smart, both those guys are winners, they both do what they do really, really well. We saw that with Crowder here. He’s shooting it great, he’s a really smart player, he’s a competitive guy, and he’s fit right in with that team. And it allowed them to -- a team that’s started big all year, it allowed them to start Adebayo at the five with all that floor, that spacing, now everybody’s strengths are that much more amplified.”

The Raptors' strength came on the defensive end against Boston, but Miami provides an expanded challenge for the C’s defense with their shooting depth at all five positions on the floor.

“They can play through their five as the hub of the offense ,whether it’s Adebayo or Olynyk, or they can play through their multiple ball-handlers, Dragic, Butler, their shooters space the floor out for all those guys," Stevens said. "On the other end, I just think they have -- they defend to win. They’re smart, they’re tough, they’re in the right spots, they know where the threats are, and they don’t take a possession off. So I think they’ve played as well as anybody in the last two months. It’s not a surprise that they’ve played as well as they have in the playoffs because they’ve looked great the entire time. They’ve got a great way about them.”

Grant Williams reflects on pressure-packed Game 7 for rookie

The first-round pick was a DNP-CD for the first 40 minutes of Game 7 against the Raptors. However, after Daniel Theis got into foul trouble and Nick Nurse elected to go small down the stretch, Williams got the call. It was a usual scenario for the rookie all year long, so he didn’t think twice about it before being thrown into the fire.

“It was a moment that I was supposed to stay ready for, prepare for, especially for that team,” Williams said after practice Sunday. “I didn’t know if I was playing that night, honestly, because going into the fourth quarter it (seemed) like a night he might throw me in, he might not…I guess I had played well, and I went in, tried not to make mistakes, especially in pivotal moments like that. It’s not about being the superstar or the hero. It’s about just doing things for the team to win. We got a lead, and that’s what I wanted to make sure we kept.”

Williams was integral in allowing the Celtics to hold onto the lead down the stretch, including blocking the potential game-tying jumper from Fred VanVleet with 10 seconds remaining, something he wasn’t given credit for in the box score. He shrugged off the error by the official scorer afterward though.

“I blocked it,” Williams confirmed. “It all works out. No worries, we got the win, but yeah, I tipped it. I was happy, for one, that we didn’t get called for a foul, I didn’t know where the ball was going. I was just hyped that the ball was in the air and JB got the tip to Kemba. It all worked out in the end, and we’re moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals, which as a young kid from Charlotte, N.C. I didn’t know if I’d be here. It’s a special moment.”

The rejection helped Williams make up for a pair of missed free throws 20 seconds earlier that could have cost Boston the game if it weren’t for a clutch Jayson Tatum offensive rebound.

“I don’t ever remember a time I missed clutch free throws like that," Williams said. "It was definitely a laughing moment for me when JT got the rebound. I was like thank you JT for saving my career here in Boston. I’m happy we ended up pulling it out in the end.”