What It Means:

A picture of Hayward without his ankle brace shot a sense of optimism into the Celtics fanbase. But Stevens is cautioning fans to slow down and leave the All-Star forward to take his time in returning to the floor. He noted that Hayward was scheduled to get the brace off, indicating that he's not really ahead of schedule. There is an outside chance he returns late in the regular season or in the playoffs, likely in a limited role. We could expect a return to affect Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart.

Our models don't reflect Hayward returning to the floor during the regular season. A season ago, he averaged 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game across 11 postseason games with the Utah Jazz.