Step aside, Space Mountain. Disney’s most giddy journey right now is Kemba Walker’s daily health briefings.
There are twists, there are twists. Many Celtics fans are feeling nauseous.
Let’s rewind: Walker started experiencing left knee discomfort in mid-January and missed 10 games over the course of six weeks. It was a shell of his All-Star being and his shooting percentages plummeted. Walker received knee injections trying to ease his discomfort, but he was still struggling when the NBA halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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With four months for Walker to rest that balky knee, the general idea was that the Celtics guard would be in full health for the Orlando restart. Walker then began experiencing discomfort after the initial one-on-one practice in Boston earlier this month and the team decided to cut back on his activities in hopes of guaranteeing his health in the postseason.
Walker spent the team’s first four days in Orlando on a strengthening program that kept him from participating in most on-court work outside of the post-practice shooting. Celtics coach Brad Stevens initially said the team would walk carefully with Walker in hopes that he could increase his workload in practice Wednesday.
At the start of his Zoom session on Wednesday, Stevens was asked if Walker was able to practice as expected and, well, that’s when the twists and turns began.
Turn 1: “He did not (practice)”.
Turn 2: “He did a tougher workout on [Tuesday’s] day off.”
Twist 3: “They have it on a day off, a day like.”
Turn 4: “He has reacted very well, his knee feels good and that is a good thing.”
Twist 5: “He is really prioritizing the accumulation of strength in that knee, so the day to day will be in force for a while.”
So Walker didn’t practice, but had a tough workout the day before. Your knee feels good, but at first you have to make downshifts every other day.
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A check on Celtics fan panic meters would likely span the entire range. Those who were still scarred from KG’s knee, Bird’s back, IT’s hip, Kyrie’s knee, and Hayward’s ankle probably saw his yards fly. Those with faith that the Celtics are being too cautious probably only whistled a bit.
However, the Kemba roller coaster ended up. After going through all the ball handlers the team could lean on when Walker is unavailable, Stevens punctuated his thinking by noting: “Everything indicates he will be available when we are playing.”
Stevens has consistently said that Boston’s focus for the next month is simply that everyone is healthy and that the team play with rhythm when the playoffs begin in mid-August. Heck, that’s been the team’s goal for the past decade (with less-than-stellar results when it comes to injuries to star players).
But is there any reason to worry? For that, we asked podcast friend and Celtics center Enes Kanter if fans should be concerned about Walker’s health.
Kanter answered the question with his own question: Had we seen the video the Celtics posted after Monday’s practice in which Walker made nine consecutive triples?
“It looks like a normal Kemba to me,” said Kanter.
He recognized that the team’s priority is to be in full health when games are most important.
One thing Kanter longed to emphasize: Walker’s absence from court has not taken away his contributions. Kanter praised Walker’s leadership and is optimistic that when the playoffs start, Walker will be there doing all the things the All-Star Walker was doing earlier in the year.
“[Celtics fans] you can relax man Trust me, ”said Kanter. “For Kemba, it’s like riding a bike. Once he’s there, he’ll make everyone roll. He’ll get better, he’ll make everyone else better around him. Celtics fans shouldn’t be so concerned about him.” It’s Kemba Walker.
Kanter added: “It looks great to me, man. It looks in great shape, very slim. He didn’t lose any touch or whatever. For me, it’s Kemba. He is an All-Star, superstar. Obviously, he knows how to play basketball. Once it comes out, it will start up. What impressed me most about him is his leadership. Sometimes you’re sidelined, but he keeps talking, still communicating, still with a smile. That is important.”
Unfortunately, the Kemba roller coaster will remain in service until we see that. With almost all of the Celtics’ media back home in Boston and locked out of the bubble, we don’t even have a small glimpse of practice or a morning shooting to try and read Walker’s body language. We have to rely on the little bits of information that are transmitted from afar.
It is fair to be skeptical. Walker has not spoken to reporters since entering the bubble and likely will not until he does his first practice. Maybe it’s later in the week.
Thus, the Kemba roller coaster slides into darkness, with more twists and turns to come. Celtics fans hope it will end with smiles, and not everyone will be looking for their vomit buckets.
