Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker’s playoff status is still unknown

With the regular season quickly winding down and the playoffs approaching, the Boston Celtics have seven games remaining to build momentum and earn a better position for the playoffs. However, the Celtics can’t seem to find a way to win games when they’re missing just one of the essential key players on the team.

Kemba Walker’s inconsistent availability is going to negatively impact the Boston Celtics once the playoffs begin.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens has been frugal with the way he’s used Kemba Walker all season by not allowing the veteran to play on the second night of back-to-back games. By doing so, Stevens is trying to preserve Walker’s status for the crunch time of the season with the hopes of having him lead the Celtics into the playoffs.

During his weekly radio interview on Zo & Bertrand of the Sports Hub, Stevens said that there’s a plan in place for bringing Walker back and he plans to follow it accordingly.

"“We won’t play him on the second night of back-to-backs. That’ll be consistent throughout the whole year I’m guessing.” – Brad Stevens, via Matt Vautour of MassLive"

However, Walker recently took a step back in his progressions during an April 25 game against the Charlotte Hornets. Walker left that game with a strained oblique and has since missed the last four games and counting during a time when the Celtics will need him the most. Stevens said the next time Walker will see action is during practice on Tuesday and possibly in a game sometime within the week after further evaluation.

"“He’s done more each day, he’s felt better each day. Our hope is that he’s gonna be able to do some more on our off day tomorrow and then practice with us on Tuesday, which would give him a chance of playing on Wednesday. But that’s all, that’s the progression that we’re hopeful for.” – Brad Stevens, via Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald"

It’s fair to say that as great as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are, they’re just not enough to push Boston to a championship all on their own. Walker propels the Celtics further in those regards with his own scoring abilities. Without Walker, however, the Celtics will need to lean on someone else to be that veteran presence who can space the floor.

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Luckily, the Boston Celtics landed Evan Fournier at the trade deadline and he’s been able to fill the void of Walker in certain ways. In Boston’s most recent game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Fournier was in the starting lineup and hit his first seven shots while the Celtics went on a scoring run in the first half. He finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Fournier isn’t a point guard and doesn’t necessarily replace Walker in the lineup. But with Fournier in the lineup, Marcus Smart can slide into the point guard role and run the offense. The best lineup Boston has without Walker is Smart, Brown, Fournier, Tatum, and Robert Williams. Which is good, but without Walker, it automatically takes a player away from the second unit – which is something the Celtics have struggled with most of the season.

The Boston Celtics acquired Walker with a certain level of expectations of having a veteran presence to lead the team and run the floor throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately Walker’s playoff status is still unknown, which is frightening to say the least for the Celtics. Should Walker not be available for parts of the playoffs, which is a likely scenario, the Celtics will need to consider adding an additional point guard for next season or try to move on from Walker as he happens to be unavailable far too often.