Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker is the biggest key to a victory tonight against the Pacers

The going has been rough for the Boston Celtics as of late, but they still have time to right the ship. A win tonight could be the start of a much needed turnaround, and Kemba Walker will prove to be vital in attaining said victory.

Despite their recent struggles, the Boston Celtics are well on their way to reaching their sixth consecutive postseason appearance. At 42-21, the C’s are current holders of the third seed in the Eastern Conference and posses one of the most menacing first-six rotation the league has to offer.

Baring a catastrophic meltdown — no, their current losing ways do not qualify as such — the team will be amongst the eight out east that make the playoffs.

Even still, at this moment to say Boston is in a state to contend would seem like quite a farce. Asked that question a month ago, almost any Celtics fan would be completely behind this notion.

But oh how the mighty have fallen.

Since coming back from the All-Star break — where they had two players take part in the festivities — the Boston Celtics have accumulated a record of 4-5, with four of those loses coming within the past five outings.

During this unfortunate stretch, the team has been hit hard by the injury bug (Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward have all missed games) while first time All-Star Jayson Tatum has found himself in the midst of some sort of slump.

In regard to his rough stretch of late, coach Brad Stevens gave his reasoning as to why Tatum has struggled:

"“They’re physical, they’re dialed in, they’re ready to go,” Brad Stevens said in regard to opposing teams defensive schemes on Tatum.“I felt like he saw a lot more doubles in the other games,” Stevens said. “They are up on his pick-and-rolls. They’re more active with high hands and will throw an occasional blitz on the pick-and-roll, but no run and jumps like we saw with the Lakers, no super hard traps like we saw in some of the other games, including the Cavs game where he handled them really well. But the best defenders are on him in every game.”"

As previously mentioned, since coming back from the All-Star break the Boston Celtics have dealt with a myriad of injuries — something they’ve unfortunately dealt with for the majority of the season. Of those injured, perhaps the most noteworthy has been their franchise point guard, Walker.

Of their nine contests since resuming action, Kemba Walker has been sidelined for all but three of them. This, coupled with Brown missing the past three outings, has made Tatum the clear number one option for the team, with no one else coming close.

It is apparent that teams have figured this out — especially recently — as the 22 year old is shooting just 36.6 percent from the field (opposed to his typical 44.7 percent) and averaging three turnovers over their past two tough outings.

Now, the Celtics are currently prepping for tonight’s challenging matchup against the surging Indiana Pacers (39-25 on the season, 6-1 over last seven games). Luckily for Boston, however, they will have Kemba Walker playing in his third consecutive game since returning from injury, which just reinforces the belief that he is finally fully healthy.

Presumedly off off his minutes restriction, and with a few games under his belt in what should have gotten the rust out of his game, he should be back to playing the way he has for the better part of his fourth consecutive All-Star season, which should only help get Tatum easier looks at the basket and, in turn, help Boston end their losing streak at the right time.

The presence of a fully functioning Walker in the team’s starting lineup keeps the opposition more on their toes rather than when Tatum is the sole top talent on the floor.

With this, the east’s second best dynamic duo can finally contribute in a completely healthy state to help guide the team to a victory over this competitive Pacers squad, which would be a great feeling for both the Boston Celtics and their fan base.

We have seen Walker struggle with efficiency since coming back from injury, as he’s put up 16 points and five assists on only 32 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from deep.

With the costly turnover he coughed up in the dwindling seconds of their last outing against the Thunder still fresh in his mind, Walker should only use this as motivation to fuel a big followup performance tonight when Boston needs it most.

A finally healthy Kemba Walker post All-Star break should only help get his teammates open looks, take the pressure of an opposing defense off Tatum, help the team’s overall production and, ultimately, halt the Boston Celtics’ current losing streak at two games.

Tip-off will commence at 7 PM (EST). As always, go Celtics!!