We don’t really have any injuries to watch today, but let’s go over some Gordon Hayward (ankle) news. The headline on Hayward is that coach Brad Stevens said that he expects Hayward to play at some point in this series.
He hurt his ankle four weeks ago, and he is finally starting to ramp up a bit. Stevens had said that Hayward is “getting better” and “looked good” in workouts. Hayward also did some group work on Monday, which is a step up from the individual work he did over the weekend. Stevens did suggest that Hayward still has some work to do and going through practice isn’t the same as a game.
Stevens said he has “no idea” on when Hayward’s target date is for his return. One major additional factor is that Hayward could leave the bubble to be with his family for the birth of his son. Coach Brad Stevens declined to comment on the possibility that Hayward could stay in the bubble and not be with his family. However, back in July, he said it would be an easy call to leave the bubble for the event. “It’s a pretty easy decision for me on that,” Hayward said. “I’ve been at the birth of every one of my children and I think there are more important things in life [than basketball]. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Leaving the bubble would almost certainly cost him two games, so it’s going to be tough to see him get to even 3-4 games in this series. We should get additional updates on Hayward in the coming days.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics, 6:40 pm ET
Chris Silva remains out.
Gordon Hayward remains out while Javonte Green (knee) is doubtful.
Denver Nuggets vs. LA Clippers, 9:00 pm ET
Will Barton and Vlatko Cancar remain out.
The Clippers have no injuries to report.
