Heyward: Rehab ‘most difficult thing I’ve done’
BOSTON » The Celtics were in sunny Los Angeles, it was another sub-zero winter day back in Boston, and Gordon Hayward was stuck in rehab, shooting baskets from a chair and picking up marbles with his toes to work his surgically repaired ankle back into shape.
“The hardest part of the whole process has been the mental challenge,” Hayward said Thursday, reporting that he is 100 percent healthy and preparing to be on the court for the Oct. 16 opener against the Sixers. “I think you find the fight within yourself.”
The Celtics’ top free-agent acquisition of the 2017 summer, Hayward was injured in the first quarter of the first game of the season when he landed awkwardly on his left leg, breaking his tibia and dislocating his ankle. He may have been able to return before the end of the season, but then he needed more surgery in May.
Other players did their best to keep up his spirits: One time, Aron Baynes brought back some Krispy Kreme doughnuts from a road trip and drove them over to Hayward’s house.
“There’s so many days where I wake up and it’s like, ‘Man, here we go again,’” he said. “It was the most difficult thing I’ve done.”
Speaking at the new practice facility named for Red Auerbach, Hayward said he celebrated each bit of progress — the walking boot coming off, or shooting baskets standing up, instead of sitting in a chair. Within the past two weeks, he has been able to play five-on-five basketball.
“With each step I get some joy,” said Hayward, who then slipped into his Celtics uniform and took part in a photoshoot.
Celtics’ Bird taking a break after charges
BOSTON » Boston guard Jabari Bird said he’s taking a break from the team following charges that he choked and kicked his girlfriend and prevented her from leaving his apartment.
In a statement, the 24-year-old Bird apologized to his teammates and fans for creating an “unnecessary distraction” and said he’s taking time away to deal with “legal and medical issues.”
“I do not condone violence against women,” he said. “I am hopeful that in due time and process, I will be able to regain everyone’s trust.”
Officer involved in Buck’s arrest fired
MILWAUKEE » A Milwaukee officer involved in the stun gun arrest of Bucks’ player Sterling Brown has been fired because of social media posts mocking the incident, the city’s police chief said Thursday.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales said the firing decision was not tied to anything Erik Andrade did when Brown was arrested, but explained that the social media posts compromised the officer’s ability to testify in other cases.
Brown sued the department and accused officers of using excessive force and targeting him because he’s black. A group of officers swarmed on him at a Walgreens parking lot because he didn’t immediately remove his hands from his pockets. Brown was standing with the officers waiting for a citation for parking in a disabled spot, but never appeared to threaten police before or during his arrest, according to police body camera videos.