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Paul Pierce shared his thoughts on the ankle injury of Gordon Hayward in Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA and Boston Celtics legend said Hayward’s injury is a ‘huge blow’ for the Celtics and could shift the momentum for the Sixers.

“I think it’s a huge blow. When you look down at that roster, there’s not much depth — Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter. The bench scored 8 points in Game 1. You know how much they won by? Eight points.

That’s a critical blow for them to lose that point production, a guy who can spread the floor, who can knock down shots, a guy who can get the ball and play pick-and-roll.

Yes, (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown’s numbers will go up, but I think with his injury, it’s going to level the playing field with Philadelphia.

They didn’t win by much and the Celtics don’t have a deep bench, so this series could be a long series for Boston,” Pierce said during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” Wednesday morning, via Dave Green of NBC Sports Boston.

Hayward suffered an ankle injury and will miss the remainder of the series, as he will be sidelined for four weeks.

Boston leads the series (2-0) and Game 3 will take place on Friday.