Boston Celtics: What Kemba Walker ‘learned’ from first playoff action

Boston Celtics All-Star guard Kemba Walker says he learned a lot from first playoff experience.

In an interrupted 2020 NBA season, the Boston Celtics got as far as they were projected to go. They made a deep playoff run with an opportunity to make it to the NBA Finals. For a veteran All-Star guard like Kemba Walker, that experience was valuable.

In scoring 20 points in the team’s 125-113 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Walker didn’t reflect on what could’ve been as his team was eliminated from the playoffs in the NBA bubble, he expressed appreciated for his teammates and what he learned from his first playoff action.

Although there was moments he lived up to the “Cardiac” Kemba nickname, the veteran All-Star guard just didn’t give enough to push a more talented Boston Celtics team into a showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Part of that was due to his lack of playoff experience at the NBA level.

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But, like a true veteran, Kemba Walker is putting value in what he gained and not holding any regrets on not advancing even further.

"“I’ve learned a lot, just the intensity of the playoffs, where every possession matters so much, from game to game,” Walker said, via Celtics.com. “Things switch from game to game, adjustments, every game is just different. Biggest regrets? Don’t have any. Lot of credit to Miami – those guys are really good – but I thought we fought hard. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guys I play with.”"

There will be some disappointment in the Boston Celtics not getting to the NBA Finals considering the path was made easier with the Milwaukee Bucks going out in the second round, but Kemba Walker and the young C’s ran into the team that eliminated NBA MVP Giannis Antekokounmpo.

They also ran into a team with players who got hot at the right time. As good as a defensive team as the Celtics are, it took a lot of energy limit the hot shooting of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.

The hot version of Kemba Walker was definitely needed

While the Boston Celtics present with their own tough matchups when Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward are all on the court, the team really needed Kemba to get hot. Whether it was due to a lingering knee injury or just the lack of playoff experience, Walker had a tough time getting it going on the offensive end.

While Tatum, Brown and Marcus Smart did have the experience he lacked, there was times when those players were cold that the leadership of Kemba on the court was needed. He did the best he can, but after this experience, he now knows he needs to take it up to another level and find balance between letting those young stars do their thing and taking over when he has the hot hand.

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As far as off-the-court leadership, Kemba Walker was definitely an upgrade over Kyrie Irving in that department. Now, going forward, the Boston Celtics know exactly what they need to compete for a championship. A viable big man aside, it’s all about intensity.

Kemba Walker and the Celtics got a lesson of that from a Miami Heat team lacking top-level stars.

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