‘Kemba has been really good’: Brad Stevens, Jayson Tatum remark on Kemba Walker’s progression over last few games
Walker scored a season-high 28 points in the Celtics' win over the Hawks.
In a month that’s been a rollercoaster for the Celtics, Friday was a good part of the ride.
The Celtics got a much-needed 121-109 win over the Hawks, two days after losing to them, which was also their fifth loss in seven games. What might have been even better for the Celtics was that they got a big performance from their star point guard.
Kemba Walker scored 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Celtics Friday night, giving him season-highs in points and shots made. Of the 28 points, 20 came in the first half. More specifically, nine of those first-half points came in a 39-second span during the half’s final two minutes, allowing the Celtics to carry a 66-41 lead going into the break.
“I felt good. I felt confident,” Walker told NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. “My teammates just really doing a good job getting me open, finding when I was open. I just had to knock the shots down. So yeah, I felt good.”
Walker’s shooting performance on Friday adds to a noticeable improvement he’s had over his last four games. After shooting a combined 6-for-32 in the Celtics’ final two games of their West Coast road trip, Walker’s scored 20-plus points in three of his last four games and has made at least 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers in each of those games.
Due to the knee procedure he had this offseason, Walker hasn’t played in back-to-back games this season, which includes Wednesday’s loss to the Hawks. Celtics coach Brad Stevens made sure to note that the team’s been playing better with Walker as of late.
“Kemba has been really good,” Stevens told reporters. “We’ve struggled through this stretch, right? And there’s been a lot of angst, and a lot of talk, but in three of the last four games Kemba’s played, we’ve won. And in all four games he’s played pretty darn well. You can tell he’s really coming, and that’s a real positive for our team.
“He was by far our best player in Washington and then he was good against Denver, and then I thought he was terrific tonight and took on a challenge of chasing (Trae) Young all over the place, too — which, he ended with 31, but I thought the first three and a half quarters we guarded him pretty well.”
As Stevens noted, Walker’s impact wasn’t just on the stat sheet. He also took a couple of charges throughout the course of Friday’s win.
“It’s really important (to set a defensive tone),” Walker said. “My teammates, they go as I go. I gotta bring that juice, I gotta bring that energy, I gotta bring the positive vibes to my teammates. And that’s what I try to do.”
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One of those teammates that felt Walker’s “positive vibes” was Jayson Tatum. The star forward, who scored 25 points on Friday, remarked on the improvement Walker’s made as the season’s progressed.
“You can tell he’s coming along,” Tatum said. “Each and every game he just feels, seems, looks a lot more like himself. That’s what we all expected. So, hopefully, we can just get him out there more often.”
Walker, Tatum, and the Celtics look to continue the momentum on Sunday when they travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans, which is the first game of a three-game road trip.
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