Kemba Walker’s former coach understands the joy of his new situation

Kemba Walker, officially an all-star starter for the second straight season as well as a member of his fourth straight team, woke up Friday morning to a text from one of the people who helped him get there — Orlando coach Steve Clifford, one of Walker’s former bosses in Charlotte.

“We have a great relationship. He’s a special person in my life who has helped me become a great basketball player,” said the Celtics guard. “So big thanks and a lot of respect and appreciation for him for sure.”

Clifford is especially glad that after years of generally shouldering the offensive burden alone in Charlotte, Walker has a bounty of help with the Celtics, though Jayson Tatum (groin), Jaylen Brown (sprained ankle) and Enes Kanter (bruised hip) all missed Friday night’s game against the Magic.

“And then there’s Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart – he has a lot of weapons now,” said Clifford. “I know he’s enjoying it. When we were together in Charlotte and last year, he was top five in usage every year, particularly in the fourth quarter and late-game situations.

“He’s courageous and has enough game to handle it, but when you get double-teamed as much as he did, it makes it hard,” he said. “He and I communicate sometimes, and I know he’s greatly enjoying his teammates, playing for Brad, living in Boston, and the fact he doesn’t have to make every play. He never complained, I’m not saying that, but he’s perceptive enough to know it’s good for him and good for his career.”

The point, according to Clifford, is that Walker doesn’t change, regardless of his home.

“He would do this anywhere. People say he fits in well,” he said. “He’s a four-time all-star, he plays to win, he cares how the team plays, he doesn’t care about his numbers, and he takes pride in being a good teammate. I never heard him complain about, I’m not getting enough shots. He moves the ball to his teammates freely.”

Good point

Walker’s all-star inclusion means a Celtics point guard has made the lineup for the fifth straight year, also including Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving. So that pressure is off for now.

“I’m glad I didn’t come here for my first year and didn’t (make it). That would’ve sucked,” said Walker, who admittedly doesn’t pay much attention to this kind of thing.

“Not really. I had no idea about that. I’m not sure. I just try to play the right way, have fun, lead. The media, players and fans got me in there,” he said. “I know they’ve had some great point guards over the years, obviously. I didn’t know it was the fifth straight year. That’s not something I really thought about. But definitely cool to keep it going for sure.”

Tacko love

In the ever-more-complex all-star voting system, seven NBA players actually voted for Tacko Fall as a starter.

“That’s an accurate vote. Players, those are players, not media that voted that,” said Brown. “Not the fans. The players know what they’re talking about I guess, it’s about time they wised up.

“I didn’t vote. I don’t know how to vote. Yeah, I missed it — would have been eight (expletive deleted) votes for Tacko. No question.”

Brown out

Brown was clearly weighing a risk/reward equation prior to his late scratch from last night’s game. He went through an extensive workout with Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins following Friday morning’s shootaround at The Amway Center.

“Definitely I want to be out there for my team, but also if I don’t have what it takes, I won’t be doing anybody a service,” said Brown. “If I get out there and I can cut and move, and I can make an impact on the game — but if I can’t be impactful, it would probably be best for someone to just step up and play.

“It’s unfortunate, it’s a part of this league, and we definitely don’t want to drop one tonight,” he said. “It’s tough, if you force it and get out there you can potentially make it worse, or you play the long game and make sure your health is intact. I guess that’s what the medical staff is coming up with. What’s the risk factor here.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3aJySyL