Kemba Walker played more minutes Tuesday than he had since January.
The Boston Celtics guard scored 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting in 27 minutes, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range. He chipped in another four assists in the Celtics’ 111-106 loss to the Miami Heat at the NBA’s campus in Walt Disney World.
Walker has continued to progress nicely, even playing fourth-quarter minutes for the first time in the NBA bubble. But Boston head coach Brad Stevens, while optimistic with Walker’s progress, remains consistent that he won’t rush the All-Star back.
Stevens told reporters after the loss that Walker will not play Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets, the second night of a back-to-back set.
“It’s important, I wasn’t planning on doing that but obviously when (Marcus) Smart fouled out, we didn’t have much choice,” Stevens said when asked about Walker’s fourth-quarter minutes, as seen on NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage.
“Brad (Wanamaker), I thought, gave us really good minutes to get us to that spot and then Kemba was going to play the rest. He’s got to get as much reps as he can, and obviously those are good things.”
Stevens said Boston does not want Walker “going hard two days in a row,” noting it’s likely the first-year Celtic will see another incremental increase in minutes Friday against the Toronto Raptors.
“I think he’s done a good job of preparing for it,” Stevens said. “These minutes will help him get there. And when he plays a couple games in the 30s, he’ll feel better about it and by then, the playoffs and everything, he’ll be fine.”
Jayson Tatum is happy to see Walker continue to get healthy, as well.
“That’s big for us,” Tatum said. “Obviously, we want to win all these games, but equally important is getting everybody healthy, playing well, building chemistry and just making sure guys are getting their rhythm for the playoffs.”
The Celtics will face the Nets starting at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
