Tag: Kemba Walker

Kemba Walker probable vs. Nets, Tremont Waters sent to Red Claws

Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker appears set to return to the floor against the Brooklyn Nets.

With Kemba Walker having his injury status upgraded to probable against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics have sent rookie point guard Tremont Waters back to the Maine Red Claws.

The Red Claws, who lost their first game of the season despite a historic performance by fellow two-player Tacko Fall, are the Celtics’ NBA G League affiliate.

His move back to Portland makes it clear that Boston is expecting Walker to play, no matter what it says on the injury report.

A few days ago, when Walker was on the hardwood trying to collect himself after smashing headfirst into forward Semi Ojeleye, it seemed improbable that the Celtics would have their star guard available in the near future.

Boston’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets will be heavily watched one way or another; although Nets superstar Kyrie Irving is out with a shoulder impingement, Walker’s return to the court will be received with plenty of fanfare.

Celtics team doctor Tony Schenna breaks down Kemba Walker’s injury

Kemba Walker went through a thorough and extensive set of evaluations after running head-first into Semi Ojeleye.

Gordon Hayward’s fractured hand aside, Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker had what was the team’s scariest injury of the season last Friday when a collision with teammate Semi Ojeleye — a man built like a stone wall — caused him to drop to the ground like a bag of rocks.

Stretchers were wheeled out. Players huddled up and prayed. Walker’s mother watched helplessly from her home in Charlotte.

A franchise that’s seen it’s fair share of season-ending injuries, the thought that Walker may have played his last game of the season all too soon crossed many people’s minds.

Miraculously, Walker has made a speedy recovery from what was initially diagnosed as concussion-like symptoms and a neck sprain.

However, Celtics team doctor Tony Schenna described the injury, courtesy of NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, and the picture he painted was one of legitimate concern that Walker had suffered a much more serious injury.

“In Kemba’s case… he ran head down into Semi. When he landed, he basically had numbness and tingling in his hands. You can imagine that kinda gave him a little bit of shock… He just needed a couple of minutes to collect himself.

He never lost consciousness. He basically stayed on the floor, mostly as a medical precaution.”

Although Walker remained on the floor due to his shock and to as a precaution, the medical team was still well aware of the potentially dire implications that can come from a player experiencing numbness and tingling in their extremities. As a result, Walker was placed on a stretcher before being transported to what Schenna describes as “a level-1 trauma center.”

“Because of the mechanism and because he had numbness and tingling in his hands,” Schenna says, “they took full spine precautions…”

The battery of tests included “a full neurological evaluation, a full set of x-rays… an MRI and… another special set of x-rays once they knew the structures were all stable in his neck to make sure the motion was intact and everything was at normal.”

Their conclusion? The All-Star “had no significant structural damage to the bony architecture of his neck or the soft tissue around his neck.”

Walker was placed in a soft collar because the Celtics would be traveling and sent home.

Once back in Boston, Schenna and a spine surgeon did a full evaluation of Walker’s imaging while sending a copy to a cervical spine specialist at New England Baptist. At that point, Walker “had no symptoms and he was feeling really well, so he passed the exam.”

He was then placed in concussion protocol that included a “full cognitive review,” a “preseason evaluation,” a “light exercise program” and another “full evaluation” that included both a cognitive and cervical spine evaluation.

Kemba passed everything with flying colors. His final test though would come on Tuesday, after participating in practice.

While Walker seemed to recover the feeling in his hands rather quickly, knowing that there was an extensive and thorough evaluation by the Celtics alleviates some concerns about him returning to the court so quickly.

Kemba will now have a chance to suit up against Spencer Dinwiddie and the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 27 after missing Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.

If he does play, he may have a minutes restriction but considering his toughness, it wouldn’t be surprising if he does not.

Injury report: Kemba Walker, Daniel Theis out vs. Kings

Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker will miss the team’s game against the Sacramento Kings but they may have another player proficient in the pick-and-roll in mind to replace him in the starting lineup.

Per an announcement from the Boston Celtics, star point guard Kemba Walker and starting center Daniel Theis have been listed as out against the Sacramento Kings, with Walker still ailing from a neck sprain he sustained on Friday and Theis recently contracting an illness.

Rookie swingman Romeo Langford continues to be out with an ankle sprain he’s been rehabbing for two weeks.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has played coy about who could start in Walker’s place, suggesting that even recently called-up rookie point guard Tremont Waters could get the opportunity (per The Athletic’s Jay King). With Waters running the show in the starting unit, he’ll be able to mimic Walker’s pick-and-roll heavy style while helping keep Stevens’ rotation as is.

Boston has been dealing with injuries since before the season began, staying true to their “Hospital Celtics” nickname. However, the Celtics have lost three out of their last four games and will need to overcome their recent losses in order to right their suddenly rocky ship.

Kemba Walker’s mother gave her son a minutes restriction should he suit up against the Kings

Andrea Walker was 1,500 miles away from her son, Kemba Walker, when he collapsed to the ground with concussion-like symptoms and a neck injury.

Every son knows that the very idea that they make be suffering or in trouble incites mass panic and fear in their mothers.

So when Andrea Walker — the mother of Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker — saw her son being carted off on a stretcher after crumbling to the floor just minutes earlier, one can just imagine her level of concern.

Speaking to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, about what she saw that night — more than 1,500 miles away in her Charlotte home — and described the scene as “awful.”

“If I could’ve jumped through that TV, I would have. I felt like he was halfway around the world.”

Per Himmelsbach, Walker’s mother heard a commentator compare her son’s injury to another that had resulted in temporary paralysis.
“I mean, all kinds of things were going through my mind,” Andrea said. “It was just crazy.”

Fortunately, Mrs. Walker was promptly contacted by the Celtics’ medical staff and kept abreast of Kemba’s status. After being hospitalized overnight with concussion-like symptoms and a need to do further testing, Walker was released the next day with just a neck sprain.

Though thankful for his remarkable recovery, one that inspires images of X-Men’s Wolverine, Mrs. Walker is now stunned by the possibility that Kemba could — and that he would want to — play against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Just three days after sustaining the injury.

“He wants to play on Monday,” exclaims Mrs. Walker. “I’m like, ‘This boy, this boy.’ He just loves his sport so much.”

“I told him if he wants to play, just play five minutes then.”

A good son will listen to their mother often but nobody can stop a warrior from entering battle and giving it their all. If Walker does suit up, expect him to will himself through all 48 minutes of the game if he must.

Just hope that if he does, his mother only sees the first five minutes.

Or at the very least, she sees Kemba go through the entire game without sustaining another injury.

Leading teammates in prayer for Kemba Walker, Semi Ojeleye hoped for the best

Boston Celtics forward Semi Ojeleye led his team in prayer as All-NBA point guard lay motionless after a scary collision.

It was one of those moments that seemed to never end.

With the air seemingly sucked out of the arena in scenes reminiscent of Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward’s catastrophic ankle injury, Celtics point guard Kemba Walker lie motionless, crumpled on the parquet after colliding head-first into teammate Semi Ojeleye’s chest in Friday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

“I just remember asking God,” Ojeleye said (via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm) of the collision that felled the UConn product as he dove for a loose ball, pausing to collect himself.

“I just asked that it wasn’t as bad as it looked,” he continued. “I didn’t really know what was going on. He wasn’t really moving. So everybody’s kind of wondering, just asked that he’d get back as soon as possible.”

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown (who took a similarly scary fall in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year) saw the look on Semi’s face and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Any time anything like that — the back, the head area is obviously serious,” added the Georgia native.

Ojeleye, sometimes called the Man Made of Granite for his rock-hard physique, couldn’t help but think of how he might have reacted differently.

“[In the] back of my mind, I’m like, ‘What could I have done? Should I have moved?'” offered the SMU product. “It happened so fast. Everybody, they told me the same thing, [there was] nothing I could have done.”

As the players stood awkwardly over their fallen teammate, unable to help the medical staff tend to Walker, who was lying inert and almost completely still on the floor of Pepsi Center, second-year center Rob Williams spoke up.

“I was kind of all over the place, and Rob was like, ‘Say a prayer,'” Ojeleye said. “I was like, ‘He’s right.’ It was the right thing to do. I’m glad Rob told me to do that … Thankfully, I think that prayer was answered and many other prayers were answered, because he’s up and about. So we were just praying for the best.”

While Walker appears to be on track to make a full recovery, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t plan to rush the All-Star back, good news or not.

Describing the Bronx native’s relatively unscathed status apart from concussion-like symptoms a “minor miracle” (per MassLive’s John Karalis), Stevens explained the reason Walker is unlikely play in the team’s next tilt, a potential revenge match against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

“The head injuries, the neck injuries are scary, and that’s the reason he’s doubtful, to be honest … I think he could probably play with the strain part but we want to make sure with the way he hit, and certainly because of the sensitivity to head injuries.”

While Walker is officially doubtful to play against the Kings in the team’s next tilt, no one (save perhaps Kemba) is upset, instead thankful things broke so well after such a frightening collision.

With support in the form of two-way player Tremont Waters being called up to help fill in for the injury-plagued Celtics and Walker looking likely to return soon if not Monday, things are much better than they appeared to be for a few scary moments on Friday night.

Yet, the Man Made of Granite more than likely hoped — at least briefly — he was more of a man made of putty to give his teammate a more gentle wall to slam into.

“Seeing it is one thing, but knowing you was involved in the play … I don’t know how to describe it, [that] kind of feeling,” offered the Kansas native.

To the benefit of all, it seems Kemba — and by extension, the Celtics — got quite lucky compared to how things could have played out.

Whether or not you believe in the power of prayer, it’s safe to say the brush with disaster brought the team closer together.

Perhaps more important that anything, it reminded them it’s relationships and people that matter most at the end of the day.

Report: Tremont Waters recalled from G League with Kemba Walker ailing

Boston Celtics rookie point guard Tremont Waters has been tearing it up in the G League and could see time on the floor in the event that the injured Kemba Walker is out for Boston.

Per the Boston Celtics, rookie point guard Tremont Waters — the 51st pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — has been recalled from his assignment with the NBA G League’s Maine Red Claws. Waters is on a two-way contract with the Celtics, so he can spend a maximum of 45 days with Boston.

Waters, though undersized at 5-foot-10, is an exceptional playmaker who routinely makes high IQ plays for his teammates and consistently creates space for himself off the bounce.

He’s averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game this season for the Red Claws, having played in all five of Maine’s contests to this point.

The 21-year-old has likely been called up due to the neck injury sustained by starting point guard Kemba Walker during Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

Walker was listed as doubtful by the team for Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings but considering the expected severity of his injury, one would expect the three-time All-Star to get the day off.

If Walker is unable to start, second-year NBA pro Brad Wanamaker will likely assume the starting role and lend his steady hand to the team. Wanamaker has averaged 7.1 points, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 53.0% from the field and 35.3% from three this season.

Report: Kemba Walker listed as doubtful vs. Kings with neck sprain

Boston Celtics floor general Kemba Walker is one of the toughest players in the league, missing total of six games over the past four seasons.

Per the Boston Celtics (h/t NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg), point guard Kemba Walker will be doubtful against the Sacramento Kings with a neck sprain.

Walker suffered the injury against the Denver Nuggets on Friday in what was a moment that generated plenty of concern from onlookers, with the team forming a circle to pray and multiple players from other teams expressing their hope that Walker would make a full recovery.

After being diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms, Walker was hospitalized overnight, avoiding any major injury.

Many would have expected Walker — who sprained his neck two weeks ago, when the Celtics played against the Dallas Mavericks — to be listed as out for Monday’s game against Sacramento so his listing as doubtful comes as a surprise.

However, as Walker has missed just six games over the past four seasons combined and played all 82 games last season, he’s long since proven to be one of the toughest players in the Kirstie,

Report: Kemba Walker released from hospital after sustaining concussion-like symptoms

The Boston Celtics’ floor general is a warrior; Kemba Walker has been released from the hospital.

Although he would be hospitalized with concussion-like symptoms in the aftermath of his on-court collision with teammate Semi Ojeleye, Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker has been released from the hospital and will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

Following the game, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens would say that all of the scans and tests on Walker came back with positive results.

Walker, a nine-year NBA veteran at 29-years-old, has never played fewer than 62 games in a season (2014-15). However, it’s certainly possible that Walker misses multiple games to deal with his neck and head injuries.

Boston’s next game is on Nov. 25 against the Sacramento Kings.

NBA players tweet prayers for Kemba Walker after scary injury

Kemba Walker was taken off the floor on a stretcher after a scary collision on Friday night.

Boston Celtics star Kemba Walker was taken off the court on a stretcher in the second quarter of Friday’s game against the Nuggets after colliding with teammate Semi Ojeleye and falling to the floor. Walker was chasing the ball and had his head down, and ran directly into the torso of Ojeleye, hitting his teammate with the top of his head. Walker collapsed to the floor and was eventually strapped to a backboard.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it is believed that Walker did not suffer a serious injury. The Celtics labeled the injury “concussion-like symptoms.”

NBA players and fans alike wished Walker well on social media as soon as he went down.

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Kemba Walker taken off court on stretcher after sustaining neck injury

Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker suffered a serious neck injury in the team’s heavyweight matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

In what was a scary injury for Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, the veteran floor general ran headfirst into teammate Semi Ojeleye in the second quarter of their matchup against the Denver Nuggets. A stretcher was eventually brought out to Walker and the scene has left many wondering what’s ahead for their lovable star.

Walker’s status will be updated.