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Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker has dealt with left knee soreness throughout the season. But the NBA playing in the unprecedented environment of the Orlando bubble is helping him manage his ailment.
Walker spoke with media Thursday, and he said Orlando’s warmer weather, along with not having to travel, has helped ease handling his knee pain, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Since there’s no travel, Walker hasn’t had to endure his knee swelling on flights. Walker played in one of the three scrimmages, totaling nine minutes in the Celtics’ game against the Phoenix Suns.
According to the Celtics’ Twitter account, Walker will play in the team’s first seeding game Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks. He will play under a 15-20 minute restriction. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Kemba Walker says managing the knee is easier in Orlando than in Boston cause it's a lot warmer and there's no travel. A part of soft tissue injury management is dealing with the swelling caused by flying, so not having to deal with that will be a major relief.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) July 30, 2020
With Walker saying it’s easier to manage his knee, that should mean good fortune for him and the Celtics. Boston already has arguably the NBA’s best collection of wings in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart.
And with Walker as the lead guard, the Celtics have a good chance to come out of the East. Walker, who has had two total playoff appearances, is on a contender for the first time in his career, and he’s poised to show why his quality play with the Charlotte Hornets wasn’t a mirage.
Before the shutdown, Walker was scoring 21.2 points per game, dishing 4.9 assists a game and shooting 37.7% from the 3-point line.
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