Gordon Hayward Won't Play vs. Bucks Because of Ankle Injury; RJ Hunter Active

The Boston Celtics announced forward Gordon Hayward will miss Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks after suffering an ankle injury.

RJ Hunter will make his season debut on the active roster with the Celtics after signing a two-way contract in January.

Head coach Brad Stevens announced Wednesday that Hayward had twisted his ankle in a practice, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. The player was initially considered questionable, but the injury appears to be more serious.

Injuries are not something the 6'8", 226-pound forward had to deal with much during his time with the Utah Jazz. Excluding the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, he averaged 75 games per year with Utah—and he also played in all 66 games during the lockout-shortened campaign.

However, Hayward found himself shelved nearly immediately to start his Celtics career. He suffered a dislocated ankle and a fractured tibia in a gruesome fall just minutes into his Boston debut on opening night in 2017-18. That injury cost him the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

Without Hayward and ultimately Kyrie Irving (knee), Boston made it to within one win of the NBA Finals, losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games.

Now that James has moved west, a healthy Celtics squad entered the 2018-19 season as the favorites to come out of the East. However, adding Hayward back into the mix didn't go quite as smoothly as the Celtics had hoped early on, as he had some shooting struggles as he worked to rediscover his game following his injury. Ultimately, Irving, per Brian Robb of BostonSportsJournal.com, challenged his star teammate in late November to be more aggressive on the court.

For Hayward, his early season struggles can be attributed to wavering confidence.

"I think most of that is probably from a lack of confidence in going to the basket and challenging bigs—especially at the beginning of the year," Hayward told Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman. "I think that's the last part that's not all the way back yet."

He told ESPN.com's Tim Bontemps in January that he feels more comfortable on the court with each passing month.

Hayward is averaging 11.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season. And while he has established himself as an NBA star, he has proved to be a team player, coming off the bench 36 times in 53 games this season.

Boston proved last season that it can pile up wins and make a deep run without Hayward. It has veterans in Irving and Al Horford who can lead the way, and it has young players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who have proved in the past they can replace Hayward's production.

The Celtics have the depth to get through the regular season in good shape even without Hayward, but their championship aspirations would take a hit if he's not healthy for the postseason.