Hayward from hospital: It’s hurting me that I can’t be there

Jayson Tatum. “We’re just keeping Gordon in our prayers, hoping everything is all right.”

Fans who never got to see Hayward in a Celtics uniform lined up before Wednesday night’s game to sign a banner imploring him to get better and “come back stronger than ever” from the injury. Other fans held up hand-made signs wishing him well.

Celtics forward Daniel Theis wrote “GH20” on his shoe, and a fair number of Hayward’s No. 20 jerseys were visible in the crowd, which began chanting his name late in the first half.

After playing his first seven years with the Utah Jazz, Hayward signed a four-year, $128 million contract this offseason to rejoin Stevens in Boston — part of a near-complete roster overhaul for the team that finished first in the Eastern Conference last season.

The team also traded fan favorite Isaiah Thomas to Cleveland for fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving and shipped out regular starters Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. In all, just four players on the roster finished last season with the team.

Taking Hayward’s minutes, Smart scored 12 points and had nine rebounds on Tuesday night. Smart moved into the starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Bucks.

“He put a lot of effort into starting his career well in Boston,” Stevens said of Hayward. “This is a setback, but there’s going to be a full recovery.” AP