The Boston Celtics were ecstatic to get Kemba Walker back in their lineup on Sunday despite getting blown out by the New York Knicks. Following Sunday's loss to the Knicks, Walker spoke about his knee injury after making his season debut for the Celtics, via ESPN's Tim Bontemps.
Kemba Walker says he’s been in pain for “a really long time,” and is excited that he was able to move freely and without any pain in this game. Celtics will be thrilled if that remains the case moving forward.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 17, 2021
Prior to Sunday's game versus the Knicks, Walker hadn't played in a game since Sept. 27 against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Given that, Walker was glad to finally have an opportunity to play pain-free for the first time in months.
Walker would be limited to 19 minutes on Sunday as he contributed nine points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals in Boston's lopsided loss. At the same time, Walker would show rust in the shooting department as he made only three of his 13 attempts, including just one of his eight 3-point attempts.
Despite being able to return to the court for the first time, Walker expects to have restricted minutes for the foreseeable future.
Kemba Walker says he expects his minutes limit to be in place for awhile, and that he’s in “no rush” as he builds himself back up after so much time off.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 17, 2021
The former first-round selection of the Hornets would first suffer the knee injury last season. As a result, Walker was far from 100 percent in the NBA bubble last season and through the entirety of the playoffs.
While speaking about his first game back, Kemba Walker pointed out that he didn't feel like himself in the bubble and looks forward to getting back to his All-Star form moving forward.
Kemba Walker says all he could think about in the bubble was his pain in his knee. He said that today he was only thinking about making his moves, and that when he made those moves today he felt “joy” for the lack of pain that went along with them.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 17, 2021
Even though the Celtics were handily defeated on Sunday by the Knicks, they are excited to get Walker gradually acclimated back into their lineup.
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