Drew Hanlen: Gordon Hayward at 'Full Speed' with 'No Limitations' in Workouts

Boston Celtics star Gordon Hayward broke his leg in the opening game of the 2017-18 season and spent his entire first campaign in Boston sidelined. 

But Pure Sweat Basketball's Drew Hanlen told Alex Kennedy on The HoopsHype Podcast that Hayward is progressing nicely in his recovery:

"He's doing really well. He's up to full-speed workouts now, so he's able to cut and play and do everything; there are no limitations in his workouts. Then, in the next week or two, he's going to be able to start competing again, which is awesome because then we can begin to make adjustments and do stuff as he starts playing live—that's super important so we can make sure everything we're working on translates into games."

Hanlen also noted he was working with Hayward to help him improve in three areas: creating his own shot, playmaking and working on his mid-post game:

"We know a lot of teams are going to switch 1-through-5 and Gordon can be involved as a screener and get smaller guys on him. Basically, his main thing is isolation stuff, whether it's mid-post or perimeter-oriented, and then becoming a better playmaker so that he can continue to make plays with all of those talented guys that the Celtics have around him."

Boston has a fascinating roster. Kyrie Irving is locked in at point guard and Al Horford will be at the 4 or 5, but after them, the question becomes who else the team will start. Will it roll with a three-wing lineup that includes Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Will it bring one of them off the bench and start Aron Baynes at the 5 or Marcus Smart in the backcourt?

And how long will it take Hayward to get back into the flow of things after missing a full season? 

The Celtics will have a lot of mouths to feed offensively next year, but under head coach Brad Stevens, they've generally played an unselfish, defensive-minded brand of basketball. And as potential problems go, these are good ones to face.  

And Hayward is confident the Celtics can win a title with this group. He told reporters earlier in July: 

"The East is still going to be a tough conference; I think a lot of people are writing the East off. There were some surprises last year in the East, and there are still going to be teams that have young talent that gained a lot of experience last year that will be tough matchups for us. That said, I'm confident that we've got everything we need to make the run at the whole thing."