Last night’s close loss to the Los Angeles Lakers was one that could end up being transformational for the Boston Celtics franchise in all of the worst ways.
The most noteworthy development was easily Marcus Smart’s non-contact leg injury that knocked him out of the game in the fourth quarter:
Marcus Smart is headed to the locker room with an apparent leg injury. pic.twitter.com/jSKq2ylz4S
— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2021
The injury was of the non-contact variety…which is never a good sign for a player who is unable to put weight on that foot, per SI.com:
"During the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart left with an injury to his left calf. The injury occurred while Smart was looking to get in position for a rebound, though he made minimal contact with Lakers center Montrezl Harrell. Smart was taken to the Celtics locker room and could put no weight on his left leg, according to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. Smart played 26 minutes of the game, with four points, seven assists and two steals."
Smart’s injury could seriously put a damper on the C’s chances of competing for an NBA Championship this season, but that’s not the only oppositional force to another banner in “Title Town”.
Another is Kemba Walker, who has brought poor shooting, minimal defense, and mid-level contributions while earning max-contract money.
1-12 from the floor, a plus/minus of -8 (worst among all starters), and four points.
All for an annual value of $34 million.
This was the bright lights, the big stage. Walker needed to show up after questions about his fit as the third wheel arose in the wake of the Celtics’ 2-4 record since his return.
But we got this.
The Houdini has been concocting Walker trades for several weeks now because bad knees and a contract ascending in value is almost never good for the team that is cutting the checks on said contract.
Never have I wanted to explore what returns he can generate as I do now, though. Of course, it is nothing personal, since Walker is one of the…but basketball is a business, and business is not booming in Beantown right now.
Today, HH presents three trade packages to send the struggling point guard to a team that can better use his talents: the Los Angeles Clippers: