SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward returned to practice Monday, after missing the last five games with an injured hip flexor. He’s listed as a game-time decision if he plays Tuesday night at home against Minnesota.
“It’s frustrating,” Hayward said. “They want to make sure it’s 100 percent right before they have me playing. As a competitor, you want to just be out there, but you’ve got to let it heal.”
Hayward doesn’t know when he suffered the injury, but it happened last week against Oklahoma City, after he scored 37 points to lead the Jazz to a win over the Thunder.
“I was playing well,” Hayward said. “I was able to watch film, learn from the sideline. Hopefully, I can continue where I was at.”
His teammates gave him a hard time when he was out, especially Jeremy Evans.
“Jeremy said I was on vacation,” Hayward said. “Man, he’s supposed to be my boy. But, you’ve got to be able to take some good with the bad. You do get a little bit of a rest, and everything else in your body gets to recover a little bit, too.
