Robb: A healthy Kemba Walker opens new possibilities for Celtics in Orlando

There remains no bigger question about the Celtics heading into the NBA restart than the status of All-Star Kemba Walker. The point guard looked like a shell of himself over the final two months of the season before play was halted, shooting 31 percent from the field in February and March despite long layoffs to rest his sore knee.

The grind of an NBA season that dated back to the FIBA World Cup Tournament in China back in August clearly took its toll on the veteran 30-year old, who has had a history of knee issues. It remained uncertain whether the Celtics would be able to rehab Walker’s knee enough heading into the postseason to get him closer to full strength.

“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 back in 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.”

Of course, everything changed on March 11 once the coronavirus pandemic hit the NBA. An indefinite hiatus turned into essentially a full NBA offseason of rest for the entire league, allowing Walker a prolonged period of recovery, albeit without the usual NBA training amenities. Brad Stevens confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the Celtics will have a full roster available for the Orlando bubble (no one opting out) and no coronavirus positive tests so far for the team’s travel party since testing began last week, which bodes well for Boston’s postseason chances. The good news continued as Walker addressed his own health on Wednesday afternoon.

“It was super important for me,” Walker said of the break to rest his knee. “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. So I’m pretty comfortable with the way the schedule is and 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.”

Walker spent the majority of the past four months quarantining in his Charlotte home with rookie teammate Grant Williams. The duo returned to Boston in June to begin individual workouts at the Auerbach Center before full practices start to ramp up. The health of everyone in Boston, not just Walker, has been positive so far according to Stevens. Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and Enes Kanter were among the Celtics battling injuries when the season came to a halt in March.

“A lot of guys have been in Boston a good majority of this hiatus and we were allowed to do voluntary workouts starting early June back in the facility and have seen almost everybody through,” Stevens said. “Today is the first day we will see everybody through all in one day, because it’s mandatory now. But guys look good. They look good physically and clearly worked hard to prepare as well as they can.”

Things could change in the coming weeks as team activities get ramped up and 5-on-5 play is authorized by the league. That transition will be the true test for Walker and the rest of the league when it comes to their fitness and lingering injuries.

“It feels good,” Walker said of being back. “Still trying to get in that game shape obviously, it’s tough when you’re not able to play. It’s just a different shape, you can do all the running you want, but basketball shape is just so different. But getting there, slowly but surely for sure.”

There will be plenty of opportunities for the Celtics to manage Walker over the next month-plus before the postseason begins on August 16th, something Stevens made clear would be a priority for the entire roster. With eight seeding games unlikely to have a dramatic impact on seeding for the C’s, it’s possible the team could handle Walker and other key veterans with kid gloves the entire process, limiting their minutes and resting them on a back-to-back (the C’s have one).

The heavy volume on the schedule once things get rolling (games every other day) does not appear to be a concern for Walker, however.

“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.”

However, the thought process by the coaching staff will be critical in terms of determining how to best get Walker and others peaking right when the games matter most once they start full practices on July 9th.

“Well, we want to be at our best on August 17,” Stevens declared. “So I think that obviously everybody’s going to have different dates. I think as we look at it, you get two weeks, and then you have a couple scrimmages which haven’t been announced yet. And then you have eight seeding games. And obviously the seeding games are important for everybody that’s there. But at the same time, the most important time for us will be that August 17 day. So as we prepare and add in minutes to the equation and add in where we want to be, that’s kind of our day that we have in mind. And I think that’s really important to be able to play our best.

“We won’t go five hard days in a row. We might go two hard days in a row, go very light, two hard days, go off. That type of transition in practice. Because I think it’s going to be important. Basically, once we get there, when we start games it’s going to be every other day for however long we’re there. And so with the back-to-back in there and the regular-season seeding games, and maybe an extra day as you prepare for a playoff opponent, but we have to be ready for that kind of schedule. So that’s where our focus is right now. I’m happy with where our guys are individually. But inevitably, that first practice is going to be different. And we just have to manage that appropriately.”

For as impressive as the Celtics were for large chunks of the 2019-20 season, we still have not seen them at the peak of their powers. When Walker was at his best early in the year, Jayson Tatum was struggling with his shot and finishing. When Tatum blossomed into a superstar after making the All-Star game, Walker was playing some of the worst basketball of his career. Putting them both together at their best gives the C’s a formidable 1-2 scoring punch before we even bring up Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward.

The C’s also had put together a contending team profile while only having their top six players available for 15 games so far this year due to injuries. While it’s foolish to think much will carry over from four months ago, a fresh healthy start should be a boon for Walker after an offseason of change. Giving Stevens and his staff a full offseason to evaluate film and tendencies should put Walker and others in a better position to succeed as well.

“I’m a lot more comfortable, especially realizing the change and everything that went down during the season, the ups and downs,” Walker explained. “I’m definitely more comfortable with my teammates. We’ve been talking all quarantine, I got a chance to watch a lot of games over the quarantine, so yeah, I think I’m more comfortable. I’m ready to go. I’m definitely ready to try and expand my game to higher levels so we can just be a better team. Especially the way I ended the season, I wasn’t really happy with the way I was playing. So I’m excited.”

A lot of things will need to go right for the C’s in Orlando to take down the Raptors and Bucks and make a push for the NBA Finals, but the health of Walker’s knee was a big element on that list. With those early returns looking promising, the ceiling for this team is now on the rise.