On Friday night, the Boston Celtics suffered a scare when Kemba Walker went down with an injury and didn't get back up. Walker had to be stretchered off the court and taken to a local hospital after colliding with his teammate, Semi Ojeleye.
After the game, several players spoke out about Walker's injury. One of them was Marcus Smart. The longest-tenured Celtic offered his thoughts on Walker's injury, but also provided some little-known intel on a malady that Walker had been dealing with behind the scenes.
"It was tough. It hurt and seeing anybody carried off on the stretcher after getting hurt like that, it’s tough," Smart said. "I mean, Kemba’s been dealing with that neck since USA ball when he hurt it, and he keeps continuing to get hit in it. But we’re just glad he’s OK and it’s not too serious. He’s going to recover. Our prayers are up for him. We hope and wish him get well very soon, but it’s a scary thing to see."
Walker dealing with a neck injury had previously been unknown, so that's the most notable part of Smart's quote.
That said, Walker's injury was being described by the Celtics as "concussion-like symptoms". It's unclear if that's the only issue or if the neck problem was aggravated as well.
Either way, it's nice that Smart took the time to send his well wishes to Walker. And the good news is that the early indications are that Kemba's injury isn't significant. So hopefully, he will have a quick path to recovery.
Boston Celtics
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