Five takeaways after the Celtics wrapped up their second practice of the week in the Orlando bubble on Saturday:
1. Kemba Walker will start the seeding games with a minutes limit: We had a sense this might be coming after the All-Star was a limited participant in day one of Orlando training camp, but Brad Stevens spoke extensively on Saturday about the team’s plan to produce a slow ramp-up with Walker, even during the seeding games by having Walker spend limited time on the court.
“Kemba is more of a deal that we want to utilize this time while we have everybody together and while we’re in these spaces to strengthen his knee,” Stevens said. “The biggest thing that we don’t want to do is go through a typical training camp, which is usually a ramp-up session for most people, to get to where they need to be, for him we need to make it a ramp-up sessions so he doesn’t have setbacks once we start playing.
“He will start playing under limited minutes, most likely. Who knows what that means, but the goal is not to be limited once the playoffs come around. But certainly, I think it’s very reasonable to expect early on, scrimmages, and at least in the first week or so of seeding games, that he’ll be limited.”
The logic is sound from Boston’s standpoint. Team sources indicated that to BSJ, that Walker’s lack of access to equipment and trainers throughout the quarantine period have them proceeding with extra caution right now on their $140 million investment. The fact that this summer will likely begin a 12-month slog that will include this year’s postseason and a full season for 2020-21 by the end of next July likely have the C’s intending to minimize the wear and tear on Walker as much as possible to protect him for the long haul.
With all that said, it’s hard not to be concerned about any player that has to be treated so carefully after such a long period of rest. It makes you wonder whether the Celtics will need to protect Walker for the length of his entire contract given his track record of surgeries on his knee and his current condition. For now, the C’s championship hopes likely will swing depending on how well the training staff can get Walker close to the 100 percent mark in time for the postseason.
2. Jayson Tatum has added some muscle: We hadn’t gotten a close look at the 23-year-old in weeks but the Celtics’ youngest star appeared to add some bulk to his frame during his time ahead from the court over the past few months.
“I worked on my body, just trying to maintain my weight, try to maintain strength, keep my muscle mass and body fat the same,” Tatum said. “I did a pretty good job of that. And I guess just trying to polish up on everything. I can get better at everything. So I guess the answer is just trying to take it up another level, honestly.”
The third-year forward was pressed about his muscle gain but he refused to reveal the extent of his improvement.
“It's not for public knowledge,” Tatum said. “I can't tell everybody my secret.”
Joining Tatum among Celtics who looked to be carrying useful bulk was Enes Kanter. The big man went shirtless for his media availability session and did not appear to be carrying any extra quarantine weight. That type of discipline should come in handy for the C’s when it comes to avoiding early-season injuries, according to Jaylen Brown.
“It’s going to show how well guys were taking care of their bodies in the meantime,” he said. “I was trying to make sure I was getting the right exercise. I was running, I was trying to make everything as game-like and as realistic as possible when the season was at a stop. And again, the NBA is much different than anything that I might have done, but I tried to do my best that I can to prevent any injuries or anything. Hopefully, guys were doing the same, but we trust our medical staff along with the analytics people to make sure that our loads are being managed the right way individually for our bodies to keep us safe and keep us healthy.”
3. Confidence remains high throughout the whole roster: Despite Walker’s knee concerns, Orlando should make the first time the C’s have the entire group healthy together for an extended span since training camp began back in October. That fact, combined with the growth players have shown over the course of the season, has set a new level of optimism among this group, which counts themselves strongly in the top-tier of contenders.
“We had a meeting yesterday and we just said we need to stay humble, stay hungry and just go out there and do our job,” Kanter said. “Don’t worry about anything else. It’s just us against the world. So we need to just go out there and focus on what we need to focus on and give 100 percent and just go out there and have fun. We should be blessed that we’re finally around each other, with my teammates and my coaches and we actually are finally playing basketball. So if you ask any of the Celtics player they’re not worried about anything else but just going out there, playing basketball and having fun.”
“I’m glad that we have that mindset and we have a realistic chance,” Tatum added. “I think we have the talent, the experience, the depth and we complete with the best of them. We strive to play defense and our mindset is, 'Just never give up.' We've got a lot of guys that have been through. allot with each other over the last couple of years. So we hold each other accountable, we trust each other and we're going to fight until there is zero on the clock.”
4. Positive bubble reviews continue from the C’s for the accommodations: While the harsh reality of bubble life is documented in all kinds of ways from players on the 22 teams down to Orlando, the Celtics continue to offer little in the way of criticism for the life they are facing.
“I’ll say this, I saw a lot of people were complaining about everything but I feel like it’s amazing, man,” Kanter said. “I think the NBA is doing everything they can do just, you know, food, rooms, everything else. I think it’s perfect. But I think the only thing we need to do is just focus on basketball and not worry about anything else. There’s so many people out there living way worse than what we’re living right now, so I feel like we should be grateful, thankful and just go out there and just play basketball.”
Team director of player development Alison Feaster has been hard at work orchestrating ways the Celtics can structure their off-court time in Orlando as well.
“She's going to be doing a ton,” Stevens explained. “She's already done a ton. I mean, she's been unbelievable throughout this whole hiatus. She's got us planning for things over the next few weeks certainly before the seedings games begin and I'm sure that will continue after the games begin. She is all over it.”
The strong camaraderie the Celtics had built over the first 64 games of this season should come in handy as well.
“It’s been so long since we got to be in the gym altogether,” Tatum noted. “So it’s been fun. We’re all enjoying it, getting back into the rhythm. So we’re having a lot of fun … We ain’t got nothing else to do besides hang out together, play cards, play a lot of golf. I’m trying to get some of the guys into golf and make the most out of it.”
5. Kara Lawson is officially moving on: The first-year Celtics assistant coach will be moving onto the college game after Duke’s women’s basketball officially announced her hiring this afternoon.
OFFICIAL.
Welcome to Duke, Kara Lawson! pic.twitter.com/0IIV5WprPD
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) July 11, 2020
