Even though their entire roster is completely healthy — a rarity in and of itself — the Boston Celtics just got some of the best news of the week in terms of their fight for the three seed in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
All-Star point guard Kemba Walker is almost up to a normal regular-season minutes range.
The UConn product has been taking things very carefully after some initial discomfort ramping up post-hiatus basketball activity, slowly increasing the number of minutes he has been allowed to play per tilt beginning with the exhibition scrimmages up through the first two seeding games of the Disney restart.
#NEBHInjuryReport Kemba Walker's minute restriction has risen to 26 or 27 minutes for tonight's game against Miami.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 4, 2020
This may prove crucial to securing the third seed against the Miami Heat, who currently sit three games behind Boston in the East standings.
A win tonight against the Heat would put Boston out of reach of Miami barring vanishingly unlikely outcomes, and a loss leave the door open to dropping into the fourth seed by the end of the restarted season.
Speaking to beat reporters at Tuesday’s pregame media availability session, head coach Brad Stevens revealed Walker will have a 26- to 27-minute limit on his play, just five or so short of a typical game’s load for a starting player.
Visibly frustrated in several close games since the move to the Orlando-area ‘bubble,’ it should at minimum make Walker thrilled to have more of a role in the outcome — whatever it will be — of tonight’s contest.
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