Kemba Walker’s left knee was one of the biggest concerns for the Boston Celtics before the league shut down in March. He had missed six games after the All-Star break, a period during which Walker’s knee needed to be drained, and he was noticeably lacking his usual burst when he returned.
The Celtics were struggling to figure out the right balance between resting him to get his knee right and ramping up his minutes so he’d be ready to handle the playoff load.
Then the league shut down.
This might be obvious, but it needs to be said before this continues: no one, not Walker nor the Celtics, wanted to the league to shut down. No one wanted the coronavirus pandemic to become this serious, dangerous, and deadly. At the same time, the shutdown did happen. The league and players had no choice but to sit home and wait this out.
The result of Walker’s retreat to his Charlotte home was months of nothing but rehab and slowly working his way back to full health.
“It was super important for me,” Walker said Wednesday, after the first day of mandatory individual workouts. “I really, really needed to get that break. It definitely helped me get back to myself and start to feel comfortable on my knee. It was a very unfortunate time, but it was in my best interests for sure.”
Walker’s left knee soreness was a struggle throughout the season. After participating in the FIBA World Cup, Walker immediately walked into Celtics camp and continued what had been the longest stretch of high-level competitive basketball of his career.
“I’ve had a long summer, I’ve played a lot of basketball. That’s the only reason it’s kind of flared up on me like that,” Walker said in early March. “I’ve played a lot of basketball over the years. It happens. I’ve been blessed over the course of my career to be pretty healthy, but it happens, man. We all get injured at some point. Just gotta deal with it.”
The knee was problematic enough before the All-Star game that he was asked if he’d even participate. He not only played, but was on the floor the entire final period. The flare up and swelling happened soon after, and it cost him Boston’s entire west coast trip.
He struggled in his three games after his return, shooting 27.9% from the floor and just 20.8 percent on 3-pointers in 29 minutes per game. His signature burst past defenders was nowhere to be found at that point, but Walker says feels much better now, and is better equipped to handle a return to the court.
“I’m pretty comfortable with the way the schedule is,” Walker said. “I’m just going to keep on taking care of myself. That’s really all I can do, so I’m just going to stay on top of things and take it day by day.”
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Boston Celtics Kemba Walker says NBA hiatus helped his knee: ’I really, really needed to get that break’ - MassLive.com
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