Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving, and Gordon Hayward. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Celtics training camp's underway, and that means Gordon Hayward's first time on the court for a scrimmage since his Opening Night leg injury last year.
"It feels amazing to be out there with my teammates," Hayward said. "One day down for me on the road back. It felt really good."
Brad Stevens said Hayward mostly looked like himself. Even dunked off his left foot. The coach added some new tweaks to plays, which the guys picked up quickly. Kyrie Irving believes his group's very well rounded.
"Defensively, we're going to be who we are, right?" said Irving. "That's our identity. We have a lot of players who make a lot of plays on the defensive end. Offensively, we're gonna surprise a lot of teams too, just based on our spacing and our lineup. I'm excited to see what that looks like. Brad, basketball genius to me, so he's out there teaching us, and we just appreciate it."
Stevens said he'll rely on Al Horford as Boston's coach on the floor.
"He's been through, what is it, eleven straight years of playoff teams, and he can speak to all of his experiences," Stevens said. "He knows what made us good, and he knows what we have to work on to be better. And we've tried our best to all talk about that and be that, but his voice carries a lot more weight than mine or any of the other coaches."
Preseason opener's Friday in Charlotte.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports