The Obligatory Gordon Hayward Injury Column

Shank bangs out a column on newly acquired Celtics forward Gordon Hayward and the devastation it might wreak on the 2017 - 2018 Boston Celtics.

CLEVELAND — Gruesome. Grotesque. Painful to watch.

The Celtics’ $128 million free agent acquisition, Gordon Hayward, broke his left ankle in the sixth minute of his first game with the team Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Hayward crashed to the floor 5:15 into the season, in what turned out to be a 102-99 Celtics loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While his teammates battled back from an 18-point deficit, Hayward was wheeled out of the arena, bound for the Celtics team charter, and New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. Hayward’s parents were with him on the flight.