Walker looking his old self

BOSTON — The Celtics steadied themselves after a wobbly stretch by winning their final four games before the All-Star break, concluding a first half unlike any other. While there was a COVID-19-related pause and a startling dip below .500, there also were some signs of hope, such as Jaylen Brown’s improvement and Kemba Walker’s return.

Here are midseason evaluations of the Celtics’ regular starters, including Marcus Smart, who has been sidelined with a calf injury for the past five weeks.

Jayson Tatum: Tatum had an excellent start, but he contracted COVID-19 in mid-January and has struggled since then. Over his last 15 games, Tatum is shooting just 39.1 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line, dipping his season averages to career lows.

He has said that he continues to deal with some respiratory side effects from the virus, and sometimes he has appeared a step slow.

Also, he is facing more traps and double-teams than ever before, but he has improved his passing while escaping them and is averaging a career-high 4.5 assists.

In the second half, Tatum should attack the basket more in an effort to draw contact. He is attempting .249 free throws per field goal attempt, a career low.

He will start in Sunday’s All-Star Game, the latest accomplishment for a player who just turned 23.

Jaylen Brown: The fact that Brown’s All-Star nod was more obvious than Tatum’s shows how far he has come. He was absolutely dominant on offense early in the year, shooting 53.1 percent overall and 44.3 percent on 3-pointers through the end of January.

In the five weeks since then, those numbers have been 44.7 and 32.2 percent, somewhat of an expected regression to the mean.

Kemba Walker: Walker missed the first 11 games to strengthen his left knee. When he returned, it was not always pretty. On his drives, his shots were blocked at a higher rate than ever, and his 3-point shooting was bad.

The good news was that he did seem to be moving well, and Walker insisted that he just needed to clear a mental hurdle.

Recently, he has often been the team’s best player, and his confidence and bounce have been visible. Over the last 10 games, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions with Walker on the floor. Tatum, by comparison, has a minus-1.0 net rating during the stretch.

Daniel Theis: Theis has often joined Tristan Thompson in the double-big starting lineup. It was challenging for him to adjust to playing power forward rather than his normal center slot, but he has become more comfortable in the role recently.

Tristan Thompson: Thompson was always a ferocious rebounder during his time with the Cavaliers, but in Boston, he is gobbling up missed shots like never before. His 23.8 defensive rebounding percentage is the best of his 10-year career.

Marcus Smart: The Celtics had the NBA’s 10th-ranked defense when Smart went down with a calf strain in a game against the Lakers Jan. 30. Over the 18 games since then, their defense has ranked just 22nd.