So much has shifted since the last time Walker addressed the Boston media, back in March. Most of the changes have been bad or even devastating, but Walker can attest that the NBA hiatus wasn’t all bad. Bothered by an injured knee, he didn’t like how he was playing before the break. All the time off could save him.
“It was super important for me,” said Walker, back at the Celtics practice facility Wednesday on the first day of mandatory workouts. “I really, really needed to get that break.”
During the rush of an 82-game season, players never get such a long period of time to recover. If the schedule had pressed on like usual, Walker would have needed to push his banged-up body through pain. He would have needed to recover on off days after playing 32 or more minutes per game. He would have needed to beat up his knee regularly in hopes of building back his normal strength and quickness. He would have been under immense pressure, knowing he needed to be himself by the postseason, but without much time to regain his normal form. He would have been trapped in the NBA grind.
Instead, the NBA grind stopped abruptly. If there was any benefit to such a long pause in the league’s schedule, it was that players received time to rest their bodies. Walker went home to live in Charlotte, N.C., with teammate Grant Williams. They worked out regularly, but Walker got almost four months to strengthen his knee without all the pounding of typical NBA duties. Players all over the league benefited from the time away, but Walker in particular needed it.
Now, he says, he’s back to himself. “I’m ready to go,” Walker said. “I’m definitely ready to try and expand my game to higher levels so we can just be a better team. Especially the way I ended the season, I wasn’t really happy with the way I was playing. So I’m excited.”
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Though some players feel concerns about the NBA bubble in Florida, Walker emphasized confidence in the plan the league has put forth. As a single man with no children, he may not be impacted by bubble life as much as some other players. For him, a chance to spend up to three months with the rest of the Celtics – and hardly anybody else – actually sounds appealing.
“All I do is stay in the house anyway, so there’s nothing wrong with me staying in a room,” Walker said. “So I’ll be fine, me personally. I’m actually looking forward to it just because I’m ready to play basketball. I’m ready to enjoy myself and I think it’s going to be a pretty good setup out there as well so that we can have fun whenever we’re not playing basketball.”
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“We’re just looking forward to going out there and just handling our business,” Walker said. “We’re working hard right now. Guys worked hard over the quarantine to keep in shape and keep their bodies in shape. So we’re going to be ready to go for sure.”