Kemba Walker caught the ball in the left corner and looked at Deandre Ayton when the Phoenix Suns’ second-year big man confronted him. Walker dribbled, jumped and left, passing Ayton and entering the lane. As Ayton tried to recover, Walker absorbed the contact and finished the difficult placement.
Like old times.
“Yes, it felt good,” Walker said after his nine-minute stint in the Boston Celtics’ scrimmage victory over Phoenix, his first action from the exhibition portion of the schedule. For now, he will be more limited than the rest of his teammates. “I would love to play and not worry about minute restrictions or anything of that nature, but obviously I can’t. I have to be smart about things. “
Walker is a basketball addict who wants to play all the time, making him his worst enemy when it comes to playing with persistent injuries. There is a time and a place for the warrior mentality to step in and take a few extra minutes on the court, and this is not the time.
“It just is what it is. I want to be there for my teammates when we’re in the playoffs, “Walker said.” Hopefully by then the restrictions and things of that nature are completely off. “
The restrictions appear to be working in Walker’s favor right now, and will continue even in the starter games that will start later this week. Even in his limited time, his characteristic burst of speed and ability to change direction was obvious. It was in stark contrast to the last time we saw him play, which was a painful performance in Indiana, where he struggled to do everything he normally could.
“It was great, yes,” said Brad Stevens. “I thought he had his bang, I thought he played hard on defense. It created chaos in a couple of different plays. Offensively I thought he reached the edge and / or was shot. So encouraged by that. “
His teammates were also encouraged. Perhaps more than that, they were happy to have the band reunited for a time.
“It felt good,” Tatum said after the game. “I am glad that everyone is healthy, that they are healing. Kemba is just a happy guy, he’s happy to be there, we miss him. “
Walker’s afternoon ended after he scratched the right side of the floor, stopped at a penny and missed a triple. It was a bit short, but the most important thing was that it stopped and exploded smoothly and without complications. And like any good shooter, he probably wanted to try to end his night with a brand.
“I knew when I was giving in,” Stevens joked. “He picked up the entire court once and then let it fly on the last shot. But he knew his time was running out.
Hopefully for Walker and the Celtics, that time won’t be short for much longer.
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