Will Philadelphia 76ers Face Kemba Walker on Thursday?

It is that time of the year when sickness seemingly takes over the NBA in some locker rooms. The Philadelphia 76ers know that feeling well, as some of their players have missed time over the last couple of months due to illness.

Fortunately, the Sixers have been relatively healthy as of late when it comes to sickness. Aside from James Ennis' stomach bug last week, their locker room has been OK in that department.

Their next opponent, however, hasn't been as fortunate lately. On Thursday, the Sixers are set to host their Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics at The Wells Fargo Center. And for a moment, it seemed like there could be a possibility the Celtics might be missing one of their prominent stars.

As of late, the Celtics have been playing without their star point guard, Kemba Walker. As Walker has been dealing with the flu, he hasn't even been able to travel -- let alone play with his team as of late.

The last time the Celtics' point guard has stepped foot on the court for a matchup was on New Year's eve, when Boston traveled to Walker's old stomping grounds to play his former team, the Charlotte Hornets.

Since Walker's 22-point night in the win over the Hornets, he has missed the following three games with the flu. It seemed for a moment he could be in danger of being absent for the third matchup against the Sixers this season, but Walker looks to return just in time for the game.

Before Thursday's stop in Philadelphia, the Celtics have a meeting with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the Celtics have made Walker available for the game. However, it doesn't sound like the veteran guard is a full-go at this point still.

#NEBHInjuryReport Brad Stevens says that Kemba Walker is available but is likely “well under normal” in terms of how he typically feels.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 8, 2020

Before Wednesday night's tip-off, Celtics' head coach Brad Stevens confirmed Walker is available to play, but the star guard could have a significant limit to his minutes as he still isn't one-hundred percent healthy and ready to go.

The chances are high that Walker plays on Thursday against the Sixers. But there's still a possibility he might not be able to play his average of roughly 32 minutes. That could be a nice break for Sixers, who intend on playing without their respective star player, Joel Embiid, on Thursday.

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