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Kemba Walker Is Officially BACK.......Well Sort Of

Exhale.

Listen, it hasn't been easy trying to remain sane while we all waited for Kemba to finally return to the lineup. How could it when year after year we see the team tell us an injury is no big deal then it turns out it is actually very much a big deal? Even if rational thought explained why they were being so cautious with Kemba's knee, the more time that went by and we still hadn't seen him only allowed more and more doubt to creep in. Now, he's back which is great, but it's limited. He'll play limited minutes tomorrow and the team has already said he's not playing in the back to back on Wednesday. 

Whatever, I feel like you can beat the Cavs without Kemba. I said last week once we learned that Kemba was out for the Rockets game that if he wasn't back by one of those two B2B games which would make it 2.5 weeks since the All Star fiasco that I wouldn't believe the spin that nothing is wrong. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that because a limited Kemba is still better than no Kemba. It's a tricky situation because obviously Kemba's health is a huge factor in their potential playoff success, but the thing is the race with TOR is so tight that they NEED Kemba for this stretch run. Whether you finished 2nd or 3rd in the East could play just as much a role in how things shake out than Kemba being healthy. We saw over these last few games how important he is to what they do, especially in terms of fourth quarter offense and the balance of this roster. It's not like this is a MIL situation where they already have their seed locked up, I want Kemba to play not just so he can help secure a top 2 spots, but I want him entering the playoffs with some momentum.

Also, it's very much on brand that with Timelord now back, and Kemba finally back, that this team once again refuses to let us see them play with a healthy lineup. Now Tatum and Smart are sick. Awesome. All I want is to see what this team looks like at full strength for a legit stretch of time. Not one game here and one game there. Every other team gets to do it, when will it happen for us? Who knows, but what I do know is I am thankful that Kemba Walker is back in our basketball lives