BOSTON -- The good news is that Gordon Hayward’s recent left hand injury won’t hurt the Celtics anywhere close to the ankle injury he suffered a couple years ago.
But the Celtics will still have to manage to find success without him for a spell, with successful surgery on a fourth metacarpal fracture in his left hand sidelining him for about six weeks.
Beginning from when the injury occurred - November 9 at Dallas - that would put Hayward’s return back to the floor sometime shortly before Christmas.
If he returns six weeks from the date of the injury, that would have him back for Boston’s Dec. 22 game against Charlotte.
Boston has managed to win with key players down at times already this season.
And while the timing certainly isn’t great when you consider how both Hayward and the Celtics (7-1, best record in the NBA) were playing, Stevens reiterated that this injury is dramatically different than the ankle injury Hayward suffered a couple years ago which sidelined for all but the first five minutes of the 2017-2018 season.
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This injury isn’t that severe, even with the most conservative timelines having him back on the floor at some point this season.
But the Celtics did get some good news on the health front with Enes Kanter (knee) available to play for the first time since the team’s season-opener at Philadelphia.
Kanter, who checked into the game late in the first quarter, comes back at a good time for Boston which will look through a multitude of bodies at Dallas’ 7-foot-2 center Kristaps Porzingis who came into tonight’s game averaging 20.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and a career-high 2.6 blocked shots per game while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range.
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