A famous saying is that sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. For Kemba Walker and the Boston Celtics, winning a series in the playoffs also comes with lessons learned, especially since it took them seven hard-fought battles against the defending champion Toronto Raptors before they got the victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ahead of Game 1 against the Miami Heat, Walker admitted to reporters that facing the Toronto Raptors was a difficult challenge. According to Jay King of The Athletic, the four-time All Star learned a lot from a battle featuring two great teams giving it their all, and also emphasized “the importance of closing quarters and games.”
In Game 7 of that series, which the Celtics won 92-87, Boston outscored Toronto in the fourth quarter, 20-16. This was something they struggled to do in Game 6, when the teams played two overtimes before the Raptors prevailed, 125-122, to stay alive in the series and force a do-or-die Game 7.
The Celtics hope these lessons learned will help them against a red-hot Heat squad. Miami has started the playoffs 8-1 after a sweep of the Indiana Pacers and a shocking five-game upset of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Walker, who is playing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time after spending his first eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, sang praises to the Heat and their culture:
Kemba Walker was complimentary of Heat culture: "They play hard. They play hard all the time. I know those guys are going to be ready, but so are we. It's going to be a fight."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 14, 2020
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the Celtics and Heat tips off on Tuesday night, with Boston looking to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
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