Getty Images Kemba Walker of the Celtics dribbles the ball
Kemba Walker and the Boston Celtics couldn’t have asked for a better start against the Utah Jazz.
Jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead, the Celtics were cooking early. Jaylen Brown connected on back-to-back threes and then drained a third, for good measure.
Then, Walker joined the party, his 3-pointer found the bottom of the net with 8:36 left in the first quarter but it turned out to be his first and last three of the night. Walker, coming off of a 4-of-11 from three performance against the Phoenix Suns, was slowly improving his below-30% average from deep
Kemba’s now shooting 30.6% on the season. However, it’s his overall scoring production that’s been a major concern, lately.
In a 122-108 loss to the league-leading Utah Jazz, Walker, for his second consecutive outing, shot at a 20% or below clip (2-of-12). And from inside the arc, Kemba went ice-cold; missing 17 straight before the third quarter in Utah, where he converted his first and last 2-pointer of the evening.
Walker’s made only six of his last 32 attempts, overall.
Kemba has missed his last 17 shots from 2-point range. Really struggling against a pair of elite interior defenses in Phoenix/Utah.
Brad Stevens On Kemba Walker: ‘I Really, Really Believe He Will Be That Guy’
Still, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, who spoke to Walker’s progression, thus far, is choosing to focus on the positive signs he’s seen from his All-Star point guard, instead of zeroing in on Kemba’s shortcomings.
“We didn’t start the year with Kemba’s, necessarily, sets of actions in (plays), we’ve added those over the last month,” Stevens said. “I think we need to look at ways to do a better job as a staff of helping him. Certainly, I think that we’ll keep going because I thought he struggled to shoot it in each of the last two games. But, he’s doing a lot of other things. He’s a huge part of us.
“If we’re going to be who we want to be, and I really, really believe that he will be that guy.”
The Celtics allowed 74 second-half points. In the end, the Jazz turned things up a notch thanks to Boston being in the foul penalty early-on in the fourth and Utah caught fire from behind the arc and really poured it on in the fourth quarter, where they turned a four-point lead into a fleeting blowout.
From one towering big man in the Suns’ DeAndre Ayton to another in Utah’s Rudy Gobert, it didn’t get any easier for Walker’s approach as he continued to miss high-percentage looks at an abysmal rate. Looking ahead to a back-to-back set at home against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons, respectfully, Walker and the Celtics are hoping a little home cooking will knock off the rust.
Jaylen Brown On Loss Vs. Jazz: ‘As The Leader Of This Team, I Take Responsibility For How We Respond’
Following the loss, Brown couldn’t help expressing his frustration with how the Jazz managed to turn what was once a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter into an uber-smooth 14-point win. And had some strong words to say about it, he took this loss personally.
“Absolutely, we (expletive) should take it personally,” Brown responded. “The fourth quarter was embarrassing. That’s the time we’re supposed to be our grittiest and it felt like we just fell apart, in a sense. And that’s a lack of toughness, that’s a lack of leadership. A lot of that is on me.
“As the leader of this team, I take responsibility for how we respond and how we come out, and in that fourth quarter it just wasn’t there for us.”
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