The Celtics officially announced Sunday that Kemba Walker suffered a sprained neck after colliding with Semi Ojeleye during Friday's defeat against the Nuggets. The good news? The team hasn't even officially declared him out yet for Monday's game against the Kings, listing him as doubtful for the matchup.
While Walker is likely to be given as much time as he needs to recover, the fact that there is even a chance of him playing Monday is a good indicator that he has recovered well so far from the scary collision that left him motionless on the Pepsi Center floor for several minutes Friday night. Walker was taken to a local hospital in Denver where he was cleared from significant injury with several tests. He was re-evaluated back in Boston yesterday before the announcement of his status today.
With the Celtics already down a pair of wings in Gordon Hayward (broken hand) and Romeo Langford (sprained ankle), the team called up rookie point guard Tremont Waters from the Red Claws on Sunday afternoon. Waters is averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 assists per game for the 5-0 Red Claws and could get a limited opportunity for his first NBA action depending on how Brad Stevens wants to shuffle the rotation in Walker's expected absence on Monday.
BSJ Analysis
- Brad Wanamaker seems like a logical candidate to slide into the starting five with Marcus Smart based on how he has been playing, but that would put the team's top two healthy ballhandlers in the same lineup. Waters may be pressed into action in such a situation for bench minutes, otherwise staggering Wanamaker and Smart could be the path that Stevens ends up taking.