The practice match against Thunder in the NBA scrimmage brought out a mediocre performance from the Boston Celtics. They faced defeat by a wide 14-point margin. The team arrived on the court without star player Kemba Walker, but they had all the other big names playing for them. Enes Kanter and Jaylen Brown looked strong, but their performances were just not enough.
However, in the post-match media conference, head coach Brad Stevens looked positive about his team. He discussed the strengths in their opponents and assured that his side has enough depth in their starting five, even without Kemba.
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How good are Boston Celtics without Kemba Walker?
Kemba had suffered a left knee injury that forced him out of 14 games in the current season. Even in his last few matches, he seemed a little out of touch and nowhere close to the Kemba we know. In his last three matches, he had averaged just over 12 points per game. This is very poor when compared to the 21.2 ppg that he has averaged in this regular season.
Without a doubt, Kemba’s absence is a cause of trouble for the Celtics. But the coach says, “We should be better than we were but I think…we’ve kind of set this up to be interchangeable. So sometimes Gordan [Hayward] will bring it up anyways with Kemba on the court. Sometimes, Smart [Marcus] will bring it up.”
He then adds, “It’s nice to have multiple ball-handlers out there. But we’re certainly capable when he’s not there.”
Kemba shows positive signs about the comeback
Speaking to the reporters prior to their first scrimmage, Kemba said, “It kinda flared up on me again. The break was still really good for me. Now it feels good. I feel we made a great choice by just keeping me out of some of these practices until I really started to feel right again. Yeah, it’s working.”
So the break that this pandemic caused has helped an ailing Kemba. He sounds very positive about making it back into the team, and does not mind missing some practice.
The Celtics are a favorite to make it far in the NBA Bubble with a 43-21 record right now. They will need their key players Kemba, Jaylen, Gordon, and especially Jayson Tatum, with all that hype around him, to leave a mark.
Do you think Kemba will be back when they face Bucks? We welcome your comments.
Sources- Masslive, CLNS Media – YouTube
