Kemba Walker, #8, Boston Celtics, (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Kemba Walker is dealing with a bum knee.
The Boston Celtics might have to face the grim notion that they might need to restart the 2019-20 NBA season without the services of star point guard Kemba Walker, who is currently nursing yet another injury.
Walker has been dealing with a knee injury that has held him out of Celtics practice over the last few days. With the neck injury he sustained earlier in the year, he has had some really bad luck with regards to staying healthy in 2020. According to head coach Brad Stevens, Walker will likely be available by the time Boston starts playing games.
The Celtics won’t be able to contend without Kemba Walker.
After losing Kyrie Irving to the Brooklyn Nets, Boston scooped up Walker in free agency following his eight-year stint in Charlotte with either the Hornets or Bobcats. Walker has averaged 21.2 points and 4.9 assists with the Celtics this year. While a bit less impressive than his Hornets numbers, this is due to the fact he is playing with legitimate co-stars for the first time in his career in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Boston stands at third in the Eastern Conference with a 43-21 record. As tough as the Toronto Raptors look and as insurmountable a mountain as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks appear to be, Boston has the pieces to go to the Finals given the mixture of vets like Walker and young studs like Tatum.
Without the steady hand and lethal scoring ability of Walker, Boston has no shot at the title, as backups like Marcus Smart and Carsen Edwards have nowhere near the degree of offensive skill that the former UConn star has. Even if Walker has to miss some of the final “regular season” games, getting him ready for the postseason has to be of the utmost importance.