Kemba Walker Not Concerned About Knee: 'I'm Trending Upwards'
BOSTON (CBS) -- It was a bit concerning Wednesday when the Celtics took the practice floor in Orlando without Kemba Walker, who was resting his problematic left knee once again. And despite Brad Stevens' optimism around his starting point guard, hearing that Walker wouldn't be participating in practice on back-to-back days anytime soon was not very uplifting either.
But Thursday night, after practicing with his Celtics teammates, Walker did his best to alleviate any concerns about his balky knee.
"I'm not really concerned much, honestly, because I think I'm trending upwards, I'm getting better, and I'm getting closer to my return," he told reporters. "I'm fine. I'll be back better than ever."
Walker, who started to feel knee soreness in January and ended up missing 10 games because of it, said he felt some pain return when practice resumed a few weeks ago. Walker didn't want to take any chances and resumed his cautious approach with his knee, the same type of approach he and the team took with the knee before the NBA's COVID-19 shutdown.
"This is not normal for me being out like this," he admitted. "But this is just the smart way to go about things because I want to be at my best for my teammates and this organization when that regular season comes around, and most definitely in the playoffs.
"It's really just taking one day at a time right now, just being smart, being cautious for the most part," he added. "I don't want to have any setbacks or anything like that, so just taking it slow. But I'll be back in time for when things get real, for sure."
Thursday was a light session for the Celtics, and now Walker won't do anything until Saturday. It's part of the one-on, one-off approach the Celtics are taking with the 30-year-old as he tries to overcome this lingering issue ahead of the NBA's restart.
The Celtics return to action next Friday, July 31, against the Milwaukee Bucks. With the Celtics hanging on to the No. 3 seed in the East at the moment, three games behind the Raptors and 2.5 games ahead of the Heat, their eight seeding games do carry some importance. But with home-court advantage no longer a factor in the NBA, Boston's final seeding won't be as important as Walker's health in the playoffs.
For now, Walker will be taking it easy. It's not ideal, but the point guard sounds confident he'll be back up to speed when the games matter the most.