The NBA's COVID Conundrum and Return of the King (Kemba)
With the potential return of Kemba Walker on Friday, how will Boston's starting lineup change?
With Tim Sheils (Twitter: @timsheilsnba)
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Reading
· Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum expected to enter quarantine, according to report (WCVB)
· Boston Celtics place three players in coronavirus protocol (ESPN)
· Tacko Fall Has Incredibly Pure Response About Celtics Believing In Him (NESN)
· Boston Celtics' Kemba Walker cleared to practice; knee 'pain-free' (ESPN)
· Some thoughts on how the new players on the Celtics roster are doing so far (Boston.com)
Audio and Video
· Brown impacts Miami with passing, Harrison Barnes an ideal fit? And we're still waiting to see the best of Tristan Thompson (CelticsPod on CelticsBlog)
· Counting the early returns on every Celtics & talking to official craft beer brewer of the Celtics (Locked On Celtics)
· The COVID Celtics and Eyeing Kemba's Return with Josue Pavón (Bannertown USA - Guy Boston Sports)
What’s On Tap?
Bad news first: Jayson Tatum looks to be quarantining due to COVID protocols, and it looks like the spread hasn’t stopped there. The Celtics put out a three-tweet thread to announce their injury report this past weekend, including those questionable or out due to Health/Safety Protocols, which includes: Jaylen Brown (Questionable), Javonte Green (Questionable), Semi Ojeleye (Questionable), Jayson Tatum (Doubtful), Tristan Thompson (Out), Grant Williams (Out), and Robert Williams (Out). Boston had just 8 player eligible for their matchup against the Miami Heat on Sunday, and the team was forced to close their practice facility. The league went on to postpone the game Sunday evening before tipoff due to Miami not having enough players, and on Monday the team announced the postponement of the Celtics vs. Bulls game scheduled for Tuesday night. The Magic game on Wednesday has also been postponed.
Boston is not the only team to be affected by COVID, as the Washington Wizards have their own breakout starting along with the Brooklyn Nets, and all of this can be traced back to the 76ers with Seth Curry. The 76ers even had to quarantine in NYC, almost forcing the cancellation of their game against the Denver Nuggets due to lack of players. The Mavericks had their practice facility close down with Maxi Kleber testing positive on Sunday, which was preceded by three more Mavs players forced into quarantine in Denver. The Grizzlies have also been impacted as they played the Nets and Jonas Valanciunas had to be pulled from the game due to Health and Safety Protocols.
The NBA and NBPA need to put an end to this, and for the safety of all parties involved, suspend the games for at least two weeks. Let players quarantine and get healthy, avoid further spread, and begin to structure things to prevent (or hamper) this kind of breakout from happening. After the Celtics- Bulls in addition to the Mavericks vs. Pelicans game, it seems that’s exactly what the league is considering.
This goes beyond the league risking a shutdown, the priority is keeping your players, coaches and staff safe. While “The Bubble” worked well, it only was successful because players isolated themselves to the resort until late in the playoffs, when family and loved ones of the remaining teams were allowed into the bubble after quarantining. In an article from early December from Baxter Holmes, “there isn't a specific number of positive cases or a precise scenario that could cause a game to be canceled or postponed.” At the very least beyond making restrictive changes in game protocols, the NBA may be looking to expand roster sizes to help alleviate the stress and burden upon teams.
Now, getting that bulk of bad news out of the way, the good news for the Celtics: Kemba Walker has been cleared to practice with the team, and he could return as early as Friday with a minutes restriction most likely. This of course can be impacted by the team’s facility being closed for the time being in addition to potentially-postponed games.
It sounds like the training and treatment the team has been doing with Walker has been working, and according to Brad Stevens, Kemba has been pain-free for months. With Walker’s return, Boston will not only have a dependable option on offense besides Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but another veteran voice of leadership on the floor. Even if he is still being eased in slowly, Walker’s presence will be soothing for the young Celtics, and Boston will have their 3rd option back.
Boston (7-3) has still fared well, and currently sit in a three-way tie with the Suns and 76ers for 2nd-best record. However, a lot of Boston’s consistency issues will be mitigated with Walker’s return. In terms of last year’s roster during the regular season, Kemba ranked:
1st in Offensive Rating (115.2) - this is an estimate of how many points he produced per 100 possessions
1st in Assist % (23.2) - this is an estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while he was on the floor
4th in 3P% out of the starters, shooting 38.1% from deep. Tatum (40.3%), Hayward (38.3%) and Brown (38.2%) were ahead of him, with Walker leading in attempts per game (8.4 attempts/game)
2nd in shot attempts, only trailing Jayson Tatum
As a key cog in the team’s offense, Kemba Walker flourished as both a scorer and distributor - he never shies away from the big moments and doesn’t hesitate to take (and make) big shots, remember legendarily clutch performances at UConn? That swashbuckling style continued in the NBA with Charlotte, and it’s certainly the same case with Boston.
Clutch Stats are used at the NBA level to measure player performance within the last five minutes of games, when the pressure is the highest and the margin of error is slimmest. For the Celtics during the regular season, Walker was 2nd in clutch shot attempts only to Jayson Tatum, and led the team in 3 point attempts and makes, shooting 12/29 on a team best 41.4%. And while still dealing with knee issues in Orlando during the playoffs, Kemba was effective for Boston in the following clutch stats:
1st in Free throws (a perfect 12/12 from the line)
1st in 3 point shooting (33.3%)
2nd in FG% (56.3%)
1st in Assists (0.5/game)
What Boston has in Kemba Walker is a bonafide closer, capable of deferring to others in addition to hitting tough shots when the pressure is on. While both Tatum and Brown have flourished even more in his absence, the duo still needs a 3rd star to defer to and trust to take shots down the closing stretches in games, and it’s why Walker has been so sorely missed to start the season.
Coupled with the loss of Gordon Hayward, and all of a sudden Boston’s offensive output rests solely on the Jays. Marcus Smart performs well in spurts, but is not dependable enough to be a true 3rd option, serving best as a facilitator for his teammates. Outside of some outings from Jeff Teague and rookie Payton Pritchard, there hasn’t been a lot of other options to turn to offensively.
It’s why Boston has been so careful with the return of Kemba, and allocating the proper training, conditioning and treatment for his aggravated knee. Walker’s role with the team is vital, and if the Celtics to intend to make a deep run again this season and go beyond the Conference Finals, they need Walker to be the picture of health.
Personal Musings
Howdy folks!
I hope everyone is staying safe, it’s been quite a stressful time for anyone living in the states. I’ve been keeping myself busy with writing and basketball research, plus I recently started a course that I hope will further my knowledge. I also started to get back in the gym, and I’ve felt that’s been a huge way for me to kick some of these Covid blues.
I want to try and get back into some good habits, like reading in my free time when I can; I spend so much time in front of screens between work, writing and gaming, I need ways to unplug! Feel free to kick any book recommendations my way. Besides that, some good changes are coming, so just gotta roll with the punches and keep on making progress. I plan to be having Wednesday releases moving forward, so my apologies for the delay! Hang in there, folks.