The former UConn standout put up 32 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and a block in 42 minutes of floor time.
Former Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker is back on the court in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, and made quite the splash in his 2022-23 season debut with the Mavs, putting up a state line nice enough to elicit a “love to see it” from star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
The former UConn standout put up 32 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and a block in 42 minutes of floor time, shooting 12-of-25 from the floor, 4-of-13 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Walker had just 2 turnovers and as many personal fouls to his name in his first game of the Mavericks’ current campaign, one he sent into overtime with a clutch make.
To see Kemba’s big return with Dallas, take a look at the clip embedded below courtesy of the NBA on ESPN Youtube channel.
On this day in Celtics history, Paul Pierce went off against the Nets, Kemba Walker revealed he’d had a knee procedure and Loscy left us.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, iconic Hall of Fame small forward Paul Pierce scored 48 points in a 105-98 win over the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in 2001. The Californian guard helped carry the Celtics to the hard-fought mid-season victory in overtime with his offensive eruption, putting up 34 field goal attempts and making just 13 of his shots from the floor that night.
The Kansas product was especially sizzling from beyond the arc in terms of efficiency, nailing five of his 8 attempts from 3-point range, and getting to the free throw line an absurd 18 times.
Pierce converted an equally-sizzling 17 of his shots from the stripe that night.
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Kemba Walker isn’t the player he was when he made four consecutive All-Star teams between 2017 and 2020. But he can still provide positive value.
The Mavericks signed the 32-year-old guard as a “back-burner option” who can serve as another creator to provide offensive flexibility. Walker really struggled to score at the rim while he was playing for the Knicks last season, but if he is able to knock down his spot-up jumpers, he can help Dallas as a floor spacer.
Although he is still primarily a pick-and-roll ball handler, Walker has had success playing off the ball as well. He has historically shot well using off-ball screens and handoffs, and when he has had unguarded catch-and-shoot attempts, he has knocked them down at a high clip.
At one point, Walker was one of the most efficient shooters off the catch in the entire league. Even last year when he scored a career-low 11.6 points per game, per Synergy, Walker ranked in the 89th percentile on unguarded catch-and-shoot attempts. The season prior, while with the Celtics, Walker ranked 91st percentile.
Walker will have plenty of these opportunities during the minutes he plays alongside Luka Doncic. Since his NBA debut in 2018, no one has assisted on more 3-pointers (990) than Doncic. Tyrese Haliburton is the only player who has assisted on more 3-pointers than Doncic (70) so far this season.
Among all teams in the Western Conference, only two are taking more wide-open 3-pointers per game (19.8) than the Mavericks. Doncic draws enough attention from his opponents that his teammates often benefit, and that could be enough for Walker to make a difference down the stretch.
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“I think he’s added a layer to our team on both ends of the floor. A lot of times, he’s taking the toughest matchup defensively. He’s using his size, length and athleticism to be disruptive and give guys like Anfernee and myself the opportunity to play off the ball and not wear ourselves out on the defensive end of the floor every possession and then have to go score and make plays as much as we do offensively. On offense, he’s been able to score in isolation, transition, hit catch-and-shoot threes, and post up. He’s doing so many different things for us on both ends of the floor. He’s so versatile. It’s made us a much better team having him.”
Grant is eligible for a four-year, $112 million extension with Portland in January.
Lakers (-170, -3.5) vs. Pacers (+145), O/U 238.5, 10:30 PM ET
After all of the rumors about a potential trade that would send Russell Westbrook to the Pacers that swirled throughout the offseason, this is a fascinating game. The Pacers are now unexpectedly near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference while the Lakers (despite a recent hot streak) are bottomfeeders in the West.
The former UConn standout, 32, is a four-time All-Star and could help a struggling Mavs ball club right the ship after a rough start to the early going of their 2022-23 campaign. Dallas is currently 28th in the league in assists per game this year and is an average team shooting from beyond the arc. A healthy Walker could go a fair way towards alleviating some of these concerns.
At the time of this writing, Dallas is 9-10 and has lost four games in a row. Walker, meanwhile, went without a suitor this offseason for some time, delaying having his contract bought out by the Detroit Pistons.
Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics: How to watch, broadcast, lineups (11/28) https://t.co/GUHT7iHKgU
Per the Stein Lein’s Marc Stein, the now-released Walker will need a roster spot to ink a deal with the Mavs, with Stein projecting it will likely be that of Argentinian backup point guard Facundo Campazzo, who has played little for Dallas this season.
On this day, Celtics starting point guard Kemba Walker made his first return to his former team — the Charlotte Hornets — as a Celtic.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, a trio of regular-season wins took place over the last 10 years. The first of the three was a 100-94 overtime win over the Washington Wizards.
It saw outstanding performances from big man Kevin Garnett (20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal), point guard Rajon Rondo (18 points, 4 boards, 14 assists, and 3 steals, and wing Paul Pierce (15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals). Guard Jason Terry also chipped in 16 points off the bench to help secure the win for the Celtics despite the team shooting just 30.8% from beyond the arc.
“Overall, it’s about the win; that’s what we did,” Rondo said at the time via the A.P.
The UConn champ opened up about his fandom for Boston sports while making a return bid with the Mexico City Capitanes.
Roxbury native Shabazz Napier is a New England sports fan, growing up rooting for the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and of course the Boston Celtics while growing up in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.
And while he stayed relatively local when he elected to play his college ball for the University of Connecticut Huskies in Storrs roughly two hours to the south where he helped win two NCAA titles, his pro career has taken him quite literally around the world if not back to Boston — at least yet. As is the case now, the team has usually been flush with guards, and his floor generalship has instead taken him to other teams.
Now playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes along former No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor and Celtics camp invitee Bruno Caboclo, Napier is following an increasingly popular path for players looking to get back in the league.
Walker was dealt to the Pistons after falling out of the rotation with the New York Knicks, his home since being bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who obtained him in a deal with the Celtics in the 2021 offseason.
With the Pistons evidently unable to find the UConn alumnus a new home via trade and Walker unable to locate a team willing to sign him and facilitate a buyout, it appears Detroit plans to eat his $9.1 million contract to get to the league maximum of 15 regular contract players by the end of the day on Oct. 17.
Walker played for the Celtics for two injury-marred seasons. He played 99 games over two campaigns and averaged 19.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and a steal per game.
Celtics Lab 147: Breaking down Boston’s season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers with Ky Carlin https://t.co/4SCSzaY0nm
The Boston alum thinks the Celtics are in good hands this season.
The Boston Celtics might be starting a season in which they hope to contend for an NBA title with an untested interim head coach, Joe Mazzulla, but in the eyes of former Celtics floor general Kemba Walker, Boston has itself a “great coach.” The former UConn standout made the comment in a postgame interview with NBC Boston Sports’ Abby Chin on Friday.
In attendance to see the Charlotte Hornets play the Celtics, two of his former teams, go at it in Greensboro, Walker spoke with Chin about the team’s new head coach for the 2022-23 season, the growth of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and more.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what Walker thinks about his former team as it gears up for a title run.
This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 8 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.
The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.
In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.
Today’s installment focuses on the 16 players who wore No. 8 over the years as of September 2022.
These are all of the Boston Celtics’ draft picks since 2000 as of September 2022. https://t.co/9HpGGa7NWa
Walker evidently has not found a team willing to sign him, delaying his potential buyout indefinitely.
Former Boston Celtics floor general Kemba Walker is reportedly having trouble finding a new home, per The Athletic’s James Edwards III.
The former UConn standout was assumed to be a likely buyout candidate after being traded from the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons after falling out of the rotation in New York. Evidently, he has not found a team willing to sign him, delaying his potential buyout indefinitely.
The co-host of the “NBA Front Office” show, Trevor Lane, and guest Ron Gutterman recently sat down to talk over the former Celtics’ issues finding a place where he can help a team after injuries slowed the smaller guard’s game in recent seasons.
Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say about the former Boston point guard’s prospects this season.
