Hayward undergoes surgery

BOSTON – While the Celtics were preparing to play the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Gordon Hayward was in New York undergoing surgery.

The Celtics forward, who suffered a fractured left hand Saturday night, met with a specialist during the day, and the decision was made to operate on the hand to help speed up the recovery process.

Coach Brad Stevens said that the surgery was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and there would be an update on how long Hayward would be sidelined later on Monday night.

Hayward, who was off to a superb start in the opening eight games, was hurt when he ran into LeMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half.

After suffering gruesome ankle and leg injuries on opening night of the 2017-18 season, Hayward struggled during his return a year ago.

But in the first two-plus weeks this season, Hayward averaged 18.9 points on 56 percent shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists to help the Celtics get off to a 7-1 start. He tied a career high by scoring 39 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers last Tuesday night.

Now, Hayward will be out, probably for at least a month, as the hand heals.

“I feel bad for anybody that goes through that,’’ said Stevens. “But this is not two years ago. He’ll be out for a little bit and hopefully the surgery goes great and then we’ll figure out when he can come back.

“This isn’t a season-ending type of thing. I guess there’s a silver lining any time you miss games is that you’re more fresh at the end. At the end of the day, he’s playing great, but we’ve got other guys who are ready to step up and fill the void.’’

Stevens said that Hayward’s minutes will be distributed among several players, including rookies Romeo Langford, Javonte Green and Carsen Edwards plus Semi Ojeleye.

Marcus Smart will be a candidate to move into the starting lineup in place of Hayward, but he is the leader of the bench.

“It’s one of the reasons why Marcus in an ideal scenario provides us so much experience off the bench, so should we start him, we’re going to have to manage that with early rotations and subs,’’ said Stevens. “Obviously that’s something we’re balancing and we’re going to figure out in the next four or six weeks what’s best for our team and go from there.

“Hopefully Gordon’s stuff goes well and we’re back to full at that point. In the meantime, that could be a Javonte position, that could be a Carsen position, a Semi position, it could be Romeo. It might be the flavor of the day to be honest, what fits best in that game.’’

Langford, the top pick made by the Celtics in June, has played only one game. He has been out three games with a sore knee and played for the Maine Red Claws in their NBA G-League debut Saturday night, scoring 27 points on 10 for 15 shooting with six blocks.