Gordon Hayward is progressing with his shooting and dribbling

Hayward is now shooting jump shots. Could he really come back for the playoffs?

Gordon Hayward has taken another step in his recovery from a gruesome ankle and leg injury five minutes into his first game with a Boston Celtics. On Friday, Hayward posted a video on Go90 of his most recent shooting drills, which now include dribbles and crossovers. After months of not being able to put real weight on his ankle, the All-Star forward is now shooting jump shots.

The new video showed clear progress from a video Hayward’s wife, Robyn Hayward, posted on Instagram on Jan. 21. At that point, he was shooting on both feet, without a brace, and making a heck of a lot of those shots, but still wasn’t jumping or putting weight on his ankle.

Early in January, Celtics GM Danny Ainge tweeted a picture of Hayward, noting that he was not wearing a brace. It caused plenty of speculation surrounding his recovery at the time. The Celtics were clear in saying after the photo that Hayward has had a successful recovery so far but not to confuse that with the idea that he is ahead of schedule. I would have to assume the Celtics will do the same with this new video.

Either way, it’s reassuring and exciting to see Hayward doing well after that horrific injury and we hope to see him back as soon as he is ready.