Kemba Walker Thread

[BigRedDog]

i hope kemba does well there. He's in a really tough spot though. The celtics lost a lot this offseason and i feel like any slippage will be attributed to the "drop-off" from Kyrie to Kemba even though there's really not one.. its all the other guys boston lost like Big Al's Seafood, Rosey Cakes, and Bingo Bongo Bayngo

if we drop off (which i actually think is likely) then i will blame the loss of horford.

but really, i just want to see the C's play together and play good basketball.

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

[hickfromfrenchlick]

ESPN: The Celtics reportedly had some locker room issues last year with Kyrie Irving. From your experience, you've been saying Kemba is the opposite of that, right?

Calhoun: He's as great a kid as I've ever coached. I've coached some great people like [Emeka] Okafor, etc., etc. But he's special. A special kid. I've always told the story: When he was in Hawaii one year, his junior year, we won the Maui [Invitational]. He averaged 30 points a game. ... I remember waiting for a half an hour with the team. He was the MVP. We all went to the regular press conference, and he was the MVP. He was sensational, so all the media wanted to talk to him. So he didn't show up again for another half an hour while we're all sitting on the bus happy as heck after winning a championship. I still remember him walking onto the bus, with the trophy, and the entire bus got up and started clapping. That doesn't happen. It was spontaneous. No one said a word. That's who Kemba Walker is. Great player, great person, great leadership qualities. I know for sure, I talked to Jeremy [Lamb] about this, just what a great teammate he is.

Night and day from last year, fellas.

https://www.espn.com/espys/story/_/id/27175592/espy-winner-jim-calhoun-talks-coaching-big-east-more

[hickfromfrenchlick]

i hope kemba does well there. He's in a really tough spot though. The celtics lost a lot this offseason and i feel like any slippage will be attributed to the "drop-off" from Kyrie to Kemba even though there's really not one.. its all the other guys boston lost like Big Al's Seafood, Rosey Cakes, and Bingo Bongo Bayngo

if we drop off (which i actually think is likely) then i will blame the loss of horford.

but really, i just want to see the C's play together and play good basketball.

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

This is textbook concern trolling.

[GoCeltics123]

So Kemba has a brother! Who is funny on twitter!

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

On signing with the Celtics:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

And, on the heat wave:

Read on Twitter

[FutureIsGreen]

If Kemba disappears with the last shot I'm cool with that. Better than demanding the ball then missing 2 game winning layups. Unlike the former point guard, he sounds like maybe he will pass to an open player instead. That will be a refreshing change. Maybe even now, Tatum can take a shot, and not have some loser cry about that.

[zoyathedestroya]

If Kemba disappears with the last shot I'm cool with that. Better than demanding the ball then missing 2 game winning layups. Unlike the former point guard, he sounds like maybe he will pass to an open player instead. That will be a refreshing change. Maybe even now, Tatum can take a shot, and not have some loser cry about that.

Stevens ATO end-of-game plays are better than any iso plays I've seen over the years. No exaggeration. All we need are willing players to execute his play calls. I think Kemba's skills are best utilized in crunch time the way Brad did with IT. Someone will be open because he will draw attention. He can also act as a decoy for someone else to take a better shot. Players just have to buy in and not act like they're superior than the coach or everyone else on the team.

[Green89]

i hope kemba does well there. He's in a really tough spot though. The celtics lost a lot this offseason and i feel like any slippage will be attributed to the "drop-off" from Kyrie to Kemba even though there's really not one.. its all the other guys boston lost like Big Al's Seafood, Rosey Cakes, and Bingo Bongo Bayngo

if we drop off (which i actually think is likely) then i will blame the loss of horford.

but really, i just want to see the C's play together and play good basketball.

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

if we drop off (which i actually think is likely) then i will blame the loss of horford.

but really, i just want to see the C's play together and play good basketball.

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

[BigRedDog]

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

yeah i mean just look at the hornets record in close games over the last ~4 years.. it's historically awful... it makes no sense how we lost every close game unless you watch us night in and night out.. he just gets nervous or somethnig and holds the ball... doesnt start until there is too little time on the clock and we usually dont even get a real shot off at the end of quarters... all that said id rather have a guy who goes ballistic for 3 quarters and disappears at the end of games rather than vice versa... most guys have bad "clutch" shooting numbers

[Green89]

Yeah celts fans are going to love kemba. He does have a nasty habit of completely disappearing on the last possession of the game.... and for some reason refs LOATHE giving him a lot of the foul calls that he deserves (maybe that changes in boston). But when he gets rolling he's one of the most exciting players in the league to get behind. He thrives off the crowd. He can jsut erupt as a scorer at any time and hes super likeable unlike Kyrie. The main thing is you dont wanna leave games up to the final posssession bc he just never comes thru... you're much better off when he erupts in the 3Q and blows the other team out.. the hornets had the worst record vs pythagorean expectations of any team in the league for 3 years running because we lost every close game...

He would have been so good with horford... kanter is a big concern because he just clogs up spacing so much on the low block... that is really going to seal off driving lanes for tatum, brown, and kemba which was boston's greatest strength with horford... beyond that kemba isnt a great defender so pairing him with a stooge like kanter on defense is a big concern... horford could have covered up a lot of those issues.. all that said i doubt brad will play kanter much... Theis is a much better fit as he can shoot a little and he does all the little things out there. i also think williams is already going to be better than kanter after an offseason to get ready

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

His FG% in the final minute of a game is bad because of exactly that. When you played the Hornets last year, which player would you focus on for the final shot if you were the opposing coach?

Overall, during "clutch time" (final five minutes of a game or OT and the game is within 5 points), Harden and Walker, the two best clutch time scorers last year, had exactly the same FG% at 41%.

[Green89]

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

yeah i mean just look at the hornets record in close games over the last ~4 years.. it's historically awful... it makes no sense how we lost every close game unless you watch us night in and night out.. he just gets nervous or somethnig and holds the ball... doesnt start until there is too little time on the clock and we usually dont even get a real shot off at the end of quarters... all that said id rather have a guy who goes ballistic for 3 quarters and disappears at the end of games rather than vice versa... most guys have bad "clutch" shooting numbers

He won't have to be nervous during final possessions any longer, with the scoring threats he'll have on the floor around him now, as opposed to when he was in Charlotte.

[FutureIsGreen]

If Kemba disappears with the last shot I'm cool with that. Better than demanding the ball then missing 2 game winning layups. Unlike the former point guard, he sounds like maybe he will pass to an open player instead. That will be a refreshing change. Maybe even now, Tatum can take a shot, and not have some loser cry about that.

Stevens ATO end-of-game plays are better than any iso plays I've seen over the years. No exaggeration. All we need are willing players to execute his play calls. I think Kemba's skills are best utilized in crunch time the way Brad did with IT. Someone will be open because he will draw attention. He can also act as a decoy for someone else to take a better shot. Players just have to buy in and not act like they're superior than the coach or everyone else on the team.

Exactly, I can easily recall quite a few games where Kaminsky missed 3s to lose games and I didn't watch the Hornets all too often. I can remember Kemba hitting more than I can remember him missing. Not once did I hear him say he shoulda got the ball or whine because another man missed. I can visualize him doing the first pump on hits and on misses he claps his hands once hard, then smiles big and looks for a hand to shake. Will be far more enjoyable to lose gracefully and without blame. No head hanging and finger pointing. That drove me nuts.

[31to6]

The challenge will come when Kemba has bad back-to-back shooting nights and JB, JT, and Gordon wonder why management brought in another high usage low assist pg.

Not saying we can’t overcome that — I certainly hope we can! But Kemba’s has some rough shooting stretches — including the first half of his career but also a solid month+ of last year — and no one cared much because Charlotte. Now, the stakes are different — for him and for our other wing scorers.

[robdog_5]

Brad will get good looks for guys. Hes not gonna just iso people

[Slartibartfast]

I'd love to know how he completely disappeared on the last possession of games, when he was the second leading crunch time scorer in the NBA last year after Harden.

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

His FG% in the final minute of a game is bad because of exactly that. When you played the Hornets last year, which player would you focus on for the final shot if you were the opposing coach?

Overall, during "clutch time" (final five minutes of a game or OT and the game is within 5 points), Harden and Walker, the two best clutch time scorers last year, had exactly the same FG% at 41%.

You can see the Hornets clutch struggles in one hilarious/tragic Shaqtin level supercut here: https://streamable.com/p0acm

Kemba gets some bad rolls, but he also shows a strange reluctance to pull up, challenging the trees a lot and getting stuffed.

[reload141]

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

His FG% in the final minute of a game is bad because of exactly that. When you played the Hornets last year, which player would you focus on for the final shot if you were the opposing coach?

Overall, during "clutch time" (final five minutes of a game or OT and the game is within 5 points), Harden and Walker, the two best clutch time scorers last year, had exactly the same FG% at 41%.

You can see the Hornets clutch struggles in one hilarious/tragic Shaqtin level supercut here: https://streamable.com/p0acm

Kemba gets some bad rolls, but he also shows a strange reluctance to pull up, challenging the trees a lot and getting stuffed.

Watching that, it's laughable how bad of a roster he has had around him for all those years.

[djFan71]

His FG% in the final minute of a game is bad because of exactly that. When you played the Hornets last year, which player would you focus on for the final shot if you were the opposing coach?

Overall, during "clutch time" (final five minutes of a game or OT and the game is within 5 points), Harden and Walker, the two best clutch time scorers last year, had exactly the same FG% at 41%.

You can see the Hornets clutch struggles in one hilarious/tragic Shaqtin level supercut here: https://streamable.com/p0acm

Kemba gets some bad rolls, but he also shows a strange reluctance to pull up, challenging the trees a lot and getting stuffed.

Watching that, it's laughable how bad of a roster he has had around him for all those years.

Kaminsky is still better than Booker.

The blocks do scare me. When taller teams try harder on D like the end of the game\playoffs, it gets harder for short dudes to score. Luckily Brad should be able to generate better looks for either Kemba or someone else.

[LarryBirdsFingr]

Brad will get good looks for guys. Hes not gonna just iso people

I hope so, he didn't really put a stop to it last year. It's one of my main concerns.

[Drax]

Brad will get good looks for guys. Hes not gonna just iso people

I hope so, he didn't really put a stop to it last year. It's one of my main concerns.

While true, we have a very different situation on our hand. Last season four of eight rotation players were in contract years. At least two of them wanted more shots to show potential suitors that they deserve a big payday. That prevented our team from Brads ball moving style. This year only one player with a future as a Celtic (Brown, RFA in 2020) is in a contract year, this will be huge for us.

[ThirtyFour]

Well, his "clutch" shooting percentage is bad, historically.

Of course, there's a reason somebody could score a lot of clutch time points and also have a low FG%: be the only good player on a bad team, who opposing defenders can focus on and force to take difficult shots.

yeah i mean just look at the hornets record in close games over the last ~4 years.. it's historically awful... it makes no sense how we lost every close game unless you watch us night in and night out.. he just gets nervous or somethnig and holds the ball... doesnt start until there is too little time on the clock and we usually dont even get a real shot off at the end of quarters... all that said id rather have a guy who goes ballistic for 3 quarters and disappears at the end of games rather than vice versa... most guys have bad "clutch" shooting numbers

He won't have to be nervous during final possessions any longer, with the scoring threats he'll have on the floor around him now, as opposed to when he was in Charlotte.

On a scale of 1 to Kyrie, how mad does Kemba get if Hayward passes to Tatum instead of him on the final possession?