Kemba Walker ‘pretty darn close', but unlikely to play in Celtics' first scrimmage

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Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said All-Star point guard Kemba Walker participated in the first hour of Tuesday’s practice but is unlikely to participate in Friday’s first scrimmage against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Stevens noted that Walker did not engage in any scrimmaging but will get his sore knee reevaluated during Boston’s offday on Wednesday with the hope that Walker can engage in live action during Thursday’s practice.

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"I don’t think he will play against Oklahoma City, even though he will practice the day before,” said Stevens. "But he’s pretty darn close right now.”

That Walker is even a possibility to scrimmage and is already nearing a return to live work is an encouraging sign in his progress. The Celtics have eased Walker into practices in Orlando with a focus on strengthening his knee to ensure he’s as close to full health as possible when the playoffs start next month.

“[Walker has] been [practicing] every day to some level in the last five days,” said Stevens. "Initially, we thought it would be more every other day. He’s felt great, he’s been able to add strength and those were the two things we needed to prioritize.”

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Stevens also made note of how the rest of Boston’s core — Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart — have all been available for every team practice inside the bubble. Said Stevens: “We feel very fortunate as we enter this time now where we’re scrimmaging.”

As for his plan of attack when Boston engages in the first of three scrimmages on Friday, Stevens said he doesn’t expect to play his starters much.

"I actually was a proponent of doing the college scrimmage where we would be in a closed gym and be able to kind of do it on our own terms and maybe be able to do an offensive segment and have more of a situational game,” said Stevens. "I think that, obviously, with television involved, it’s going to be more like a regular game. We’re only going to play our highest-minute guys for short stints in that first one. But everybody is going to approach it differently."

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