Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker will play in Sunday's preseason matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the team's last contest with a knee issue, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps:
Brad Stevens says Kemba Walker (knee) is going to play today against the Cavs, and will start with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis. Brad Wanamaker has a hamstring issue, but Stevens expects him to play.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 13, 2019
Walker scored 12 points and tallied four assists in just over 20 minutes of action during his preseason debut with the Celtics.
Boston signed Walker to a four-year, $141 million deal with the Celtics shortly after Kyrie Irving left Beantown to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. He takes over at the point for a Celtic team that was rife with drama and disappointment throughout the 2018-19 season.
Although Celtics fans would like to see Walker as an improvement over Irving in terms of building team chemistry while also playing at an All-Star level, Walker has repeatedly stated that he is not looking to “replace” what Kyrie did during his tenure in Boston.
Via Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report:
“I'm not trying to go in and think that I have to be better than Kyrie last year,” he said. “It happens. Great players go to teams all the time and it just doesn't work. It just didn't work for him. Kyrie is one of the best players we have in this world. It was just unfortunate, an unfortunate season.”
Kemba Walker was a member of the USA Basketball squad that stumbled to a seventh-place finish at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Now, though, he finally has the chance to play for an elite contender in the Eastern Conference after toiling for years as a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
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