Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker was already gaining momentum as his team rode a four-game winning streak heading to the All-Star break. However, his rollercoaster season continues as he failed to be productive in their first game back against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
After absorbing a tough loss, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens pointed out his point guard's lack of aggression as he played passively all throughout the contest.
Via Will Bjarnar of Celtics Blog:
“He does a great job. He’s so unselfish that he will defer, but we need him to be the guy he can be, scoring and keeping defenses on their heels in actions for him, in secondary actions for him and when a play breaks down, getting the ball to the second side. It’s really important.”
The four-time All-Star also held himself accountable and vowed to look for his shots in their coming games.
“I think I could hunt shots a little more,” Walker said. Watching film of some of the games, I think I turned down a few shots, a few opportunities. Spot ups, I can take more spot ups when my guys give me the basketball. So yeah, I just think I can hunt shots a little more. Be a little more aggressive.”
Walker hit just 5-of-12 shots from the field which included a dismal 1/7 shooting clip from beyond the arc. He ended the night with a total of 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists in 34 minutes of action.
Though his All-Star teammate in Jayson Tatum poured in 31 points, the Celtics still missed the scoring production of Walker against a high-scoring Nets squad. On the defensive end, the Celtics also failed to perform as they allowed Nets star Kyrie Irving to explode for 40 points and eight rebounds in the game.
Their 121-109 loss dragged them down to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 19-18 record. According to Bjarnar, the Celtics are seeing more success whenever Walker scores the third-most points in the team with an average of 22.3 points and a respectable 45% shooting from the floor.
As head coach Brad Stevens implied, Walker may have seen his fair share of struggles this season but his contributions remain a vital part of the Celtics' offense. He will definitely need to play his brand of basketball and effectuate the game by showcasing his scoring and playmaking abilities on the floor.
It may have been a bad outing for Kemba Walker but he still has the rest of the 2020-21 season to try and turn things around for his Celtics team moving forward.
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