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Gordon Hayward has had the kind of start to the season that both he and the Celtics envisioned when he signed with the team in 2017.
But Hayward’s strong start will be sidelined following a fractured left hand suffered in the first half of Boston’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
This was the play that Hayward suffered the injury on, courtesy of the Celtics on NBC Sports Boston Twitter account.
Hayward came into the game averaging 20.3 points per game, and had established himself as one of Boston’s go-to players in helping the team win six of its first seven games to stand atop the Eastern Conference standings.
In addition to his scoring, Hayward also averaged a career-high 7.9 rebounds to go with 4.6 assists per game.
Boston Celtics
A key to Hayward’s success this season was centered around him getting to the rim and finishing plays off at a higher rate than we had seen since coming to Boston.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Hayward averaged a team-best 13.8 drives to the basket per game.
Hayward will see a specialist on Monday to determine whether surgery is needed, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
And after the game, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens provided an update on Hayward's status.
Filling in for Hayward will be Marcus Smart.
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