Kemba’s shot has finally arrived | Bleach report

Kemba Walker was not the first NBA player to lose more games as a rookie than in his entire basketball fan career, and he certainly wasn’t the first lottery pick to spend his rookie season playing for a loser. This is the kind of thing that happens when a league demands that its worst teams be rewarded with the best picks in the draft.

But it would be difficult to find a player whose descent from winner to loser was more pronounced.

For one thing, when he entered the NBA, Walker had earned more than most of his peers. In three years playing for the University of Connecticut, he led the school to a Final Four appearance, a Big East Conference Championship and, as a junior, an NCAA Tournament title. He was named the most outstanding player in the Final Four during that last race and, a few months later, in June 2011, he was recruited ninth overall by the then Charlotte Bobcats.

And then there is the other side of the equation. Walker did not join any reorganization team. He joined one who lost 59 of his 66 games during his rookie season (which was shortened due to a lockout), almost double the total he had lost (30) during his three years at UConn, good for the worst. winner. percentage in the history of the league.

Some might have taken it easy, as part of the natural course of a career. No Walker Defeats exhausted him. “He is a guy who is defeated by losing,” says Gerald Henderson, who played four years alongside Walker in Charlotte.

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The lowest point came after one of the team’s 29 home losses: No one can remember exactly which one. Chris Whitney, a member of Charlotte’s coaching staff, found Walker in the locker room, screaming and crying. Whitney had been in the NBA for a long time. He had played for 11 seasons and was now in his second practice. But Walker, Whitney says, “was the first NBA player I’ve seen, like he actually fell apart after a loss.”

Walker would take three seasons to reach the playoffs; five to finally win a playoff game. That victory came in 2016 when Walker helped the Hornets (who had changed their Bobcats name prior to the ’14 -15 season) bring the Heat to seven games. Losing that year stung. But the experience, one in which every minute possession of every game seemed like it could alter the series, left a mark.

“That was one of the best moments I’ve had playing basketball,” says Walker now. “It was very competitive.”

The Hornets failed to make the playoffs in any of the following three seasons. Walker stared from his home, something he said last year “because I’m a big basketball fan, but I hate because I hate not being there.” By becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer, he signed a four-year, $ 141 million contract with the Celtics. The decision was not strictly theirs, the Hornets made it clear they weren’t going to offer a maximum contract, but it still came with sacrifices. Walker gave up the comfort of spending his seasons in a city is adopted in his hometown, the power of being the main option of your team and the freedom that comes with being the only star of a franchise.

He sacrificed those things in order to be where he is now, playing for a team that enters the reboot as one of the few legitimate championship contenders and will almost certainly accomplish something that Walker has never accomplished: advance beyond the first round of the playoffs.

“That’s why I wanted to be here,” says Walker, 30. “They do that every year.”

Upon entering the March closing, Walker had provided the Celtics with everything they could have hoped for, and had returned the favor. He averaged 21.2 points per game and drilled 37.7 percent of his deep aspect. the 1.08 points he was recording for pick-and-roll possession was the third-best mark in the league among players who ran five or more per game. His off-dribble prowess, deadly upward shooting, and smooth paint scooters added punch and diversity to head coach Brad Stevens’ attack. Walker’s skill set also helped unlock the budding talents of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The sum of everything was the league fifth best offense (After finishing 10th in that category last season) and a record of 43-21, good for third in the Eastern Conference.

Omar Rawlings / Getty Images

But, says Walker, there have been bumps along the way. He spent the previous four seasons as Charlotte’s main offensive engine, and often a loner. The team’s main outline, due to Walker’s prowess but also the lack of talent that surrounded him, was simple: Give the ball to Kemba. No player made more pick-and-rolls between 2016 and 2020, according to NBA.comThe player’s tracking data, and only a handful had the ball in their hands for longer periods of time.

Walker knew that in Boston he would not have as much freedom. It was a welcome change. The problem, he says, is that sometimes his longing for adjustment led him to pass up shots in a way he had never done before. In response, Celtics assistant coach Joe Mazzulla has spent the year begging Walker to fire more, a request Walker hasn’t heard in years.

“You play with a bunch of new guys, you want everyone to feel good about you, and you want to be aware of everyone,” says Walker. “I think for me, I didn’t want everyone to think I was just a scorer or that I was selfish with basketball.”

Along with Mazzulla, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has helped free Walker from such concerns. “He always came up to me, telling me they wanted me to be more aggressive, what can they say when I’m not,” says Walker. “It made me feel comfortable, which I really appreciated, especially at the beginning of the year. It just let me know that no one is going to say anything and that no one will be mad at me for shooting. [certain] shots “.

Walker felt more comfortable in his role as the season progressed, but another obstacle came up around the New Year: He began to feel pain in his left knee, which had been operated on twice before. He missed three games in early January, another three a month later, and then five after the All-Star break in mid-February. The knee was drained and he received an injection to help relieve pain and swelling.

Walker played just four games in February and then another four in March. He was far from himself. His shooting percentages plummeted (31.7 percent from the field, 31.3 from deep). He struggled to pass the defenders. The worst moment came during a game on March 8, when, with just 10 seconds remaining and the Celtics holding on to a one-point lead, Thunder guard Dennis Schroder undressed him on the backcourt. The rotation led to a layup and a loss of one point for the Celtics.

“My knee was definitely holding me back at the time,” says Walker. When asked what specific actions he felt limited in, he replied, “Everything.” He laughs, then offers a more specific example: “Walk.” Laughs again.

In a way, says Walker, the lock, which was hidden in his spacious Charlotte home, gave him a chance. “That was great for me, to be able to rehabilitate my knee and feel good again,” says Walker. He also enjoyed the opportunity to acquire some new hobbies. “I always wanted to learn to play an instrument, and the piano was at the top of my list. So I’ve really liked it lately. I think I’m going to bring a keyboard with me to Orlando for the bubble.” Walker’s skills impressed his housemates. “I wouldn’t say it’s John Legend,” says Grant Williams, a Celtics rookie who lived with Walker during the shutdown. “But he is getting there.”

When he’s not playing the piano, or ONE with Williams, a coach and a third friend, or HORSE on Walker’s outdoor court, or challenging his housemates to do tricks on the golf course, Walker would train in the nearby Providence Day School gym, Williams’ alma mater. Initially, Williams says, it was clear that Walker was working. But it got stronger and stronger over time, and the group’s training went from simple shooting drills to knockoffs of Celtics playbook actions: pick-and-rolls, transfers, off-screen movement.

There were times, Williams says, when he wanted to ask his host what it was like to prepare for a possible NBA championship race for the first time. “But he never mentioned it and I left him alone,” says Williams.

Walker’s real test will come in the later rounds. It’s not a coincidence that the Celtics have given up 6.2 additional points for every 100 possessions this season with him on the floor, according to Glass cleaning. Scouts and coaches across the league say they’d be surprised if Walker, just 6’0 “and 184 pounds, isn’t the target of opponents choosing each possession in the closing stretch of close games.

“I hope that,” says Walker. “I really do. But at the end of the day, there are two sides to the ball.”

Assuming he stays healthy, this summer could serve as a referendum on Walker’s career. You’ve already shown that you can be a great player for a bad team, but can you elevate a good one when games are more important? Can your offensive hit make up for your defensive deficiencies when every possession matters? Can you navigate the balance between finding your own shot and setting up others in games where there is little margin for error?

Walker says he doesn’t care about those questions. Trust in the work you have done. And anyway, he prefers to walk through life with a more optimistic outlook.

“I am very, very excited,” says Walker. “This is something I’ve been waiting for a long, long time.”

Yaron Weitzman covers the NBA for Bleacher Report and is the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the boldest process in the history of professional sports. Follow Yaron on Twitter: @YaronWeitzman.