The Boston Celtics will be without their All-Star point guard for the first weeks of the 2020-2021 season.
What We Know:
- Walker consulted with several specialists in October about a lingering knee injury. It was decided that he would take a stem cell injection to the knee and be put on a 12-week strengthening program that would take him into January.
- Per the Celtics’ injury report, Walker will be out at least through the first week of January and he will be re-evaluated at that time. The team expects him to be back to on-court activities soon and will provide further updates in January.
- Walker has been dealing with his left knee since the 2020 All-Star Weekend in February. He only played four games between the All-Star break and the season postponement. Walker was still feeling pain and discomfort in the knee when the season restarted in July.
- Walker started off the restart on a minutes restriction and the restriction was lifted during the playoffs. Walker averaged a respectable 19.6 points and 5 assists per game in the bubble, but he still didn’t look quite right on the court.
- Head coach Brad Stevens said at the time that Walker was still not 100 percent and it would be some time before he was “full speed”. During media availability on Tuesday, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said the team felt good about Walker’s recovery and strengthening plan, but that they had perhaps brought him back too early after the initial injury.
The Celtics struggled with depth during the 2019-2020 season and it doesn’t help that they lost Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter this offseason. They’ll miss Walker at the beginning of the season, but the most important thing is having him completely healthy.
