Can a Kemba Walker-led Celtics find a little magic in March?

Can the Boston Celtics find a little of the lightning in a bottle Kemba Walker uncorked for UConn nine years ago in the month of March ahead of them?

It was nine years ago today that Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker showed the world what he could accomplish with a focused will and united team.

The then-UConn Husky led his team from the brink of no postseason with a 9-9 record in the Big East before football reshaped it to a national title by winning the five-game, single-elimination conference tournament to secure an NCAA bid.

He and the Huskies then went on to win it all in one of the most improbable runs in sports history, going another six games without a loss to cut down the nets for UConn’s third of four championships for the men’s program.

It speaks volumes about the leadership possessed by the Bronx native, who hopes he can get a little more of that March Madness vibe going with his current team, the Celtics.

Thinking back on the team’s last loss before Walker and UConn would go on to the legendary winning streak, a preventable loss that saw the New Yorker miss his last four shots to drop a game to Notre Dame, the All-Star point guard could see parallels.

“When I was with that team, we stayed together,” noted Walker via the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett. “Regardless that it was a tough loss, you know, it was Senior Night, but we stayed together. So it can happen anytime.”

The 29-year-old sees elements of that UConn team in today’s Celtics, as well. Despite the rough going over the last five games, which has only seen Boston win one despite most being within reach, Walker believes the team will weather the storm.

“Yeah, man, we’re definitely going to stay together,” he explained. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to stay together, for sure. That’s what we do.”

And for their part, so far they have stuck together, the team rallying around Walker despite his turnover effectively costing the team Mar. 8th’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Still, his teammates don’t lay the blame at his feet, aware that it was their collective effort and mistakes that put Walker in such a position in the first place.

“Most of us have been there — I’ve been there — and it sucks when something like that happens, but he’s still the same player who has carried us a lot this season,” offered forward Gordon Hayward (via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm).

“So we need him, and it’s on all of us,” he added. “We lost this game together.”

This sounds like a team struggling with injury and late-season focus, which is in truth very normal for this part of the season.

Had two of the four injuries been moved back into one of the tougher stretches in February or January, no one would have batted an eye, so at least some of what’s happening is just the basketball equivalent of water finding its level.

And while that may be the case, it’s still not going to satisfy these players any more than the fans, all of whom have raised their expectations based off of the success and skill the team has shown so far.

But with some time to regroup and with shooting guard Jaylen Brown not likely more than a game or two beyond the Pacers away from a return, we may see the Celtics’ fortunes turn.

After all, it is the month of March, and if there’s a time of year that Kemba Walker-led teams have found magic in before, it’s this one.

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