Kemba out again
Misses 4th straight game with oblique
Kemba Walker missed his fourth straight game to a strained oblique Sunday night against Portland, though the veteran guard continues to show signs of improvement.
Walker suffered the injury — and returned to play after he walked off the floor — during an April 25 loss in Charlotte. He’s gotten closer to reactivation ever since, though it sounds like his next best chance of action will be in a practice with the team on Tuesday.
The Celtics then depart for a two-game road trip against Orlando and Chicago.
“He’s done more each day, he’s felt better each day,” said Brad Stevens. “Our hope is that he’s gonna be able to do some more on our off day tomorrow and then practice with us on Tuesday, which would give him a chance of playing on Wednesday. But that’s all, that’s the progression that we’re hopeful for but we don’t know how he’ll turn out tomorrow after doing a little more today.”
C’s focus on the next game
As exhilarating as Friday’s overtime win over the Spurs may have been — complete with Jayson Tatum tying Larry Bird’s franchise single-game scoring record (60 points), and the team’s ability to escape from a 32-point deficit — there’s always the next game.
And the Celtics have established themselves this season as not being a sure bet to follow up success.
“Well if we don’t start well, if we start like we did the other night or even close, you don’t have a chance to come back against these guys,” Stevens said of Portland. “They have too
much firepower, too many scorers, and they’re in too good of a rhythm. So you have to do your best to slow them down somewhat. Hey, that’s part of the NBA. You gotta be able to put whatever happened yesterday in the past and move on and focus and play well.
“I always go back to a few years ago, we played a double overtime game against Golden State, and they were rolling on their big win streak, and then the next night, we had to play the Hornets in Charlotte,” he said. “I’ll never forget that. That told me so much about that team because of the toughness that it took to turn the page mentally, and you have to be able to do that. Whether it goes well or doesn’t go well, that’s part of the challenge of this league, and so that’ll be a challenge for us tonight but the bigger challenge is (Damian) Lillard, (C. J.) McCollum, on down the line.”
Ready to go
Aaron Nesmith averaged 15.5 points and shot a combined 13-for-21 in the two games prior to Sunday night, and continues to make a case for more playing time.
“He’s got an unbelievable work ethic, and he plays very hard,” said Stevens. “And again, he’s on the upper end of both of those. I know, again, everybody throws around those things as things that everyone has, but he’s on the upper end of both of those.
“And then I’d say the part that has been the most impressive to me over the last two games has been the fact that a guy can go from not playing that much from a conditioning standpoint and play those long stretches as hard as he did. Again, that speaks to his work ethic on off days, it speaks to his preparation throughout the season. And he’s getting more comfortable. He still has a bunch of plays where he looks like he’s a step behind the play, but he makes up for it because of his effort. And so I’m really happy for him and we needed that kind of a jolt from someone, and it’s been great that he’s been able to give it to us.”