Gordon Hayward is progressing. Will he return to help during the Hornets’ stretch run?
Injured and powerless to provide some veteran assistance, Gordon Hayward couldn’t do anything to halt the Charlotte Hornets’ season-ending slide a year ago.
Hayward never made it onto the floor, sidelined due to a foot injury suffered in early April. The Hornets were in a good position in the standings until Hayward went down, collapsing and tumbling to the final spot in the play-in tournament.
It has eerie similarities to how things have transpired this season since Hayward’s ankle got rolled up on by Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. on Feb. 7 . But there’s going to be a noticeable difference. A big one at that.
Hayward intends on being part of the Hornets’ run “hopefully sooner than later.”
“Yeah man, I can’t wait to get on the court,” Hayward said Wednesday. “It’s tough sitting here watching, especially with the way last year ended, too, being injured and having to kind of watch us down the stretch. So I’m doing everything I can to get back and help us in any way possible.”
Speaking publicly for the first time since walking off the Spectrum Center floor and being diagnosed with yet another injury, Hayward offered some insight into his rehabilitation process. He was on the Hornets’ recent two-game road trip and is increasing his activity levels. He’s doing individual drills at practice, focusing on plyometrics — which uses speed and force to build muscle power — strength training and range-of-motion exercises.
Things necessary for him to be a basketball player again.
“I’m starting to ramp things up a little bit here this week, testing more and more each day,” Hayward said. “I think (we’re) trying to do more basketball workouts this week, and hopefully get to contact next week, and see how it responds and kind of take it from there. It’s kind of tough to tell exactly how it’s going to respond, but we are working around the clock so I can get back as soon as possible.”
The Hornets are just as eager as Hayward. Clearing the next hurdle is the final step.
“We need to see him in live play, evaluate him in live play and just see where he’s at,” coach James Borrego said. “That’ll be the final test. We’re not there yet, but we are getting close.
“We’ve obviously missed him. As soon as he can come back, we welcome him and he’s going to add versatility, I.Q. to our lineup. So, look forward to getting him back here soon.”
This situation, of course, isn’t new to Hayward. He has been besieged with a variety of aches and pains over the years, constantly putting him in the same predicament he’s dealing with now. Just in his season-plus with the Hornets, he’s found himself on the injury report for nine different ailments. It began with the finger fracture he sustained in December of 2020.
He also has missed games with hip and back issues. He played more than 53 games in a season only once since 2017-18.
“Yeah it’s frustrating,” Hayward said. “It seems like it’s happened frequently here in the last couple of years. Obviously, with last year, but starting when I moved to Boston. So, it’s a long process getting back, no matter what the injury is any time it’s longer than a couple of games. It just feels longer. So it’s tedious work. You are working extra than you normally would because you’ve got to do more just to get back. So it’s frustrating. But like I said, it’s part of the game.”
Still, that doesn’t mean it becomes any more tolerable to accept every time it happens.
“Each day is different,” Hayward said. “Some days are better than others and so I think having good people around you helps that. Having my family obviously helps that. But then the people here, the staff here, my teammates certainly help that as well. So it definitely doesn’t get any easier, but I think the one thing that is helpful is I know my body.
“If you’ve never gone through rehab, it’s hard to know if it’s sore, pain and the differences between that and pushing through and how much you should back off. Those types of things. So, unfortunately, I know all about that.”
The Hornets have yo-yoed partially due to Hayward’s absence. They are 6-8 since he got injured, dipping from seventh in the Eastern Conference to 10th place heading into Wednesday’s game against Atlanta.
Although there are positives, such as boasting the league’s top-ranked offense after the All-Star break and a top-10 defensive rating post-Christmas, they’ve had plenty of struggles. Something is missing.
“Just consistency on the defensive end, executing our game plans,” Hayward said. “I think we’ve shown throughout the year we can put up points on anybody, especially when we get hot. But if we can’t get stops, now we have to walk the ball up the court, defense is set. It becomes that much more difficult.
“You have to be that much better to score in the halfcourt, especially toward the end of the season when teams are really starting to kind of pull together and gear up for the playoffs. So we’ve got to get stops and we’ve got to be better on that end of the floor. I think we know that.”
Every one of the Hornets’ final 13 games is meaningful, taking on a postseason-like feel. Hayward is eager to return to play in them rather than dissecting them from the bench.
“This is the part of the season you look forward to,” Hayward said. “It’s March. Here everyone’s gearing up for the playoffs and all these games matter — every single one of them with the race so tight. And so it’s going to be fun to get back out there on the court. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s tough having to sit here and watch during these games. So, like I said, hopefully it’s sooner than later.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Gordon Hayward is progressing. Will he return to help during the Hornets’ stretch run?."
