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Tim BontempsESPN
Charlotte Hornets striker Gordon Hayward will miss at least the next four weeks with his right foot sprained, the team announced on Saturday.
Hayward, who signed a four-year, $ 120 million contract to join Charlotte as a free agent in November, was due to return to Boston for the first time since leaving the Celtics in the offseason before suffering injury during the 114-97 victory at Indiana.
He will be re-evaluated in about four weeks, the team said.
Embracing a bigger role in Charlotte than in Boston, Hayward excelled for the Hornets this season, averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, while throwing 41.5% of the distance. of 3 points.
The Hornets – already without rookie star LaMelo Ball, who is endlessly with a fractured wrist – were one of the league’s biggest surprises this season. Given Sunday’s game in Boston, Charlotte has two games over 0.500 and is fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets enter Saturday night’s action designed by ESPN’s Basketball Power Index to finish sixth in the East, allowing them to avoid the play-in tournament and make the playoffs for the first time since losing in seven. games against the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2016 playoffs.
Since returning to the league as an expansion team for the 2004-05 season, Charlotte has made the playoffs only three times and has yet to advance from the first round.
The Hornets are 1-3 in the four games Hayward has missed this season (24-20 with him), allowing 9.5 points per game more than when Hayward plays, according to ESPN Stats & Information.