Dwane Casey relies on Killian Hayes not to mentally disconnect during injury

Killian Hayes faces his first big glitch since joining the NBA. The time of a fall on the floor of Milwaukee which caused his hip injury, the rookie point guard went from all to nothing. From the start of the season when he was plunged into the deep end, into nothingness, with a daily life punctuated by rest and rehabilitation.

Even if he is no longer with him on a daily basis, Dwane Casey hopes that his protégé does not disconnect from the season from a mental point of view during his convalescence.

“The main thing that concerns me is making sure he stays mentally connected. For a young man who arrives in the NBA, who is living his first season and who, all of a sudden, finds himself out of the game with an injury. It can be traumatic. Whenever we are there he is very involved in the workouts and stays connected. The fact that he stays in the game mentally is just as important as his return with us ”.

A hard blow to keep growing

The reassessment of his injury, initially diagnosed as a tear when it was in fact a subluxation, allowed Killian Hayes to avoid the operation. The first good news for the Pistons’ camp. “I’m not a doctor, but whenever you can avoid going over the pool table, it’s always better. It’s as if we had dodged a bullet ”adds Dwane Casey.

Killian Hayes will also be able to count on the entire franchise to support him, his GM Troy Weaver having also expressed the wish not to see the “Frenchie” go astray during the coming weeks.

“He has to make sure to take care of his body and his injury. This is the most important thing, to keep him in the right frame of mind, and I’m sure he will ”, said Troy Weaver last week. “That’s why we believe in him. He was a titular rookie point guard who tried to find his way, with time and minutes to help him keep growing. And now he’s deprived of all that. But he was made for all that ”.