Knee is sore spot for durable Walker
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 1/11/2002
ALTHAM - The Celtics have played the Bulls and Magic three times. They're finished with the Suns and Jazz. Tonight, they play the Pistons for the first time - with the status of cocaptain Antoine Walker up in the air.
Walker sat out practice yesterday nursing a sore right knee. An MRI earlier in the day provided welcome news: There was no serious damage to the area. The knee is still sore, however, and coach Jim O'Brien said he's not counting on the durable Walker to be available tonight.
''We have no way of knowing,'' O'Brien said after a one-hour practice. ''But if I were a betting man, I'd say, `No.'''
If this was a case of a coach protecting his player, O'Brien joined a long line. The coach referred to the ailment as tendinitis, and then noted how he did not want this to turn into the same thing that hobbled Eric Williams earlier in the season. Williams was dragging around his leg as if it had a ball and chain attached and eventually went on the injured list and missed eight games.
''You have a situation where he knows more than anybody,'' O'Brien said of Walker. ''Knowing Antoine, he's going to want to play, and play 45 minutes. The question is, do we give him the necessary rest time?''
Walker isn't the kind to sit and watch. In the last two-plus seasons, he has missed one game - Feb. 2, 2001, against the Pistons, because of his grandmother's funeral. In that game, the Celtics got 40 points from Paul Pierce and beat Detroit, 102-95. Jerry Stackhouse also had 40 in that one.
Over his Celtics career, which spans 403 games, Walker has missed only eight because of injury and all of those were because of a badly sprained left ankle near the end of the lockout season.
''As long as it isn't torn, I'm happy. It can be treated,'' said Walker, who planned on having 12 hours of treatment yesterday. ''I can't afford to have any damage. I've just got to suck it up and get through these next two back-to-back games [tonight, and tomorrow night at Atlanta]. Then I can have some time to rest for New York [next Wednesday].''
Walker was laboring at the end of the 93-90 loss to San Antonio Wednesday, but said he still doesn't know exactly how the injury occurred.
''I just came down and twisted it,'' he said.
O'Brien noticed his leading minutes man wasn't at peak efficiency and asked him what was wrong. Walker said his knee was bothering him, but that he did not want to come out of the game. He didn't. He played 45 minutes. Only Allen Iverson (43.4) plays more minutes than Walker, who is averaging 43 per game.
The coach said he generally defers to players in these kinds of situations, provided, of course, he's certain no further damage can be done. But, he said, Walker is ''one of my leaders and I respect his opinion.'' In other words, barring a sudden need for the last rites, don't be surprised to see No. 8 out there.
The Celtics have been remarkably injury-free all season. Williams is the only regular member of the rotation to have missed as many as one game because of injury. The only other one to miss a game is Vitaly Potapenko, who did not play against Washington Nov. 7 because of a coach's decision. This is a far cry from last year, when Kenny Anderson and Tony Battie both missed long stretches.
The Pistons arrive in the midst of a major slump. After starting the season 14-6, Rick Carlisle's boys have hit a rather large bump in the road, having dropped 11 of their last 13, including a 121-92 pummeling by the Lakers at home Tuesday. (There's no disgrace in that, as the Pacers showed Wednesday, getting whacked by 19 at home.) Detroit has not played since the loss to the Lakers. ''This is a case of two teams needing a win,'' said O'Brien. ''We need a win.'' The Celtics have lost two straight and six of nine and are tied in the loss column with the surprising Wizards. The Pistons are the only Eastern Conference team the Celtics have yet to play ... As for the final play in Wednesday's loss to the Spurs, it was designed to be a handoff from Walker to Pierce. But the Spurs played it well enough to force Walker to go solo. Another option was Erick Strickland.
