Kemba Walker debuts as Boston Celtics blown out by New York Knicks
Celtics star Kemba Walker had nine points in his season debut as Boston was blitzed 105-75 by the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Walker played 20 minutes -- Celtics coach Brad Stevens' targeted goal -- before leaving the game for good in the third quarter. He also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Walker had been out since the end of last season as he underwent a strengthening program for his ailing left knee.
"Obviously he's excited to play. He's ready to play," Stevens said before the game. "They've put in a lot of work to get to this point, and we're looking forward to having him out there."
Walker has had issues with the knee for the past year. He struggled with it before last season was stopped in March because of the coronavirus pandemic and then was limited by it when Boston returned to play in the NBA's bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, over the summer.
After Boston lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, Walker received an injection in the knee. He began a 12-week strengthening program in early October that ended earlier this month.
Since then, Walker has slowly been ramping up his workload -- a process that hit a snag because of Boston's recent issues with COVID-19, as Robert Williams III and Jayson Tatum tested positive and several other players were in contact tracing. As a result, Boston had three games postponed last week before returning to the court for a win over the Orlando Magic on Friday.
"Very little," Stevens said when asked how much Walker has practiced with his teammates. "But he's done a lot with, prior to our mini shutdown last week, he got in a lot with coaches. [Then he] increased his work each day throughout that period. ... Not probably your typical practice, but they feel really good about where he is and he feels really good about where he is."
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