Celtics vs Knicks: Kemba Walker’s chemistry with Jaylen Brown, 5 takeaways

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The Boston Celtics had their worst performance of the season on Sunday, losing 105-75 to the New York Knicks as Kemba Walker made his season debut.

Here are five takeaways from a game the Celtics would probably prefer to forget.

Kemba Walker does not foresee any reinstatement problems with Jaylen Brown.

One element of Walker’s comeback that probably deserves some attention is his chemistry with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Last season Walker slipped into a tertiary role during the playoffs, but he never seemed to move well and his role made a lot of sense.

Now Walker looks healthy and told reporters after the game he was painless. When the rust wears off (he committed five of Boston’s 17 turnovers), he will once again take on a major role in the Celtics’ offense – he started last year’s All-Star game and was an All-NBA selection he two years ago. This attack will give a boost to a Celtics team that missed the production of Gordon Hayward.

The Celtics thrived with the ball in the hands of Jaylen Brown. According to Cleaning the Glass, Brown’s utilization rate has been 28.2% so far this season – a significant career high. With more confidence, Brown did more: 25.8 points with shooting times of 53.7 / 41.9 / 80.

Obviously, the Celtics need to keep the ball in Brown’s hands and Walker foresees no problem.

“None. None at all,” Walker said. “He’s just got to keep being super aggressive, and that’s it. With me I’m going to be out there and I’m going to do my part. gonna fire my shots open. He kills him. I don’t want him to think just because I’m back, he can’t keep killing him, because he can. That’s what I am for here. I’m here to continue to encourage him to be awesome, which he’s been all year. I just want to try to add to it. That’s it. “

Walker doesn’t know how long he will have a minute restriction.

Walker fell hard in the third quarter after taking a rib shot, and he briefly returned to the locker room. After reassuring Brad Stevens he was fine (and not lying), Walker still hasn’t returned to the ground due to his 20-minute limit.

After the game, Walker said he wasn’t sure how long he would have restrictions on, but he felt good.

“I’m going to be honest, I hope the next game is over,” he said. “But I’m sure it will be for a few games. I’m just coming back. We just want to see how my knee reacts after these games and stuff like that. This will increase however. I will make it. It’s not urgent. I have already taken my time to come back and I will continue to take my time until I am completely gone.

The Celtics were terrible in almost every way.

You can start with the count stats for the Celtics and run almost all the way down the line. The Celtics shot 29.8% from the floor, 15.2% from three and 62.1% from the free throw line. Two players scored in double digits, one of which – Marcus Smart – had 10 points on a 4 for 15 shot. They returned the ball more than 17 times and gave up 10 offensive rebounds. The Knicks beat the Celtics 48-32 in the paint and 38-25 on the bench.

Dig a little deeper and the numbers are even worse. According to Sean Grande of 98.5, Boston’s 29.8% performance was that of 17 years old. Boston’s 37-point deficit in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, was its biggest at TD Garden since the Celtics’ 53-point loss to Detroit in 2003.

Lousiest Sunday statistic …

At 29.8%, it was the Celtics’ worst shooter in 17 years (Jan.5, 2004 vs. Detroit)

37 was the Celtics’ biggest deficit since March 2015 in Cleveland, the biggest at home since the historic 53-point loss to Detroit on Jan.31, 2003 https://t.co/UXoyKRJarB

– Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) January 17, 2021

“They just played a lot harder than us,” said Daniel Theis. “They really whipped our ass from the first minute. Throwing the ball everywhere, we had so many turnovers, we couldn’t hit a shot. So we’re going to watch the movie, but then it’s just passing. You’re going to have nights like this, but hopefully it’s only a night or two throughout the season. We can live with it if we learn from it, and move on to the next game, play a lot harder, play our way again.

Brad Stevens is not sure if the quarantined players will be back before Wednesday (if Wednesday’s game is played).

The Celtics could use Jayson Tatum and Rob Williams against the Philadelphia 76ers, but Stevens isn’t sure if either will still be available. Based on their quarantine schedules, Wednesday is the first day the two could potentially return.

“It will all depend on how the next few days go,” Stevens said. “Everyone has their own testing protocols to follow and the schedule they must adhere to. So I don’t know what to expect for Wednesday night. We’re just going to play by ear and follow the information we get each morning.

However, the Celtics might not even have to travel on Wednesday. The Sixers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday has been postponed, as Philly was forced into quarantine due to contact tracing. By Kyle Neubeck from Philly voice, the Sixers have no positive tests to report, but they faced the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, which faced Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Cities recently tested positive for COVID.

The most important thing on Sunday was just to get Walker back into the lineup.

An afternoon board with two players missing due to COVID against a lottery team in mid-January is a recipe for a game of trap. Add in the new Walker element, along with recent New York City struggles, and Sunday’s result is not surprising.

None of this excuses the loss, of course, and the Celtics haven’t asked for an apology. The point is, Sunday’s game – while ugly and arguably embarrassing for the Celtics – probably doesn’t justify panic.

“We were beaten by a team that was better than us today,” said Stevens. “This is the beautiful part of basketball. You are good if you play well during those 48 minutes. There you have it, that’s all that matters in any given game.