When the news hit about the Celtics trading for Antoine Walker, my son called to say he liked the deal. Well perhaps I was a bit hasty in my assessment of the Walker trade. It is of course way to early to change the over all analysis of the weakness in Walker’s game however there can be no denying what the near term effect has been on the club. In the two games that Walker has appeared the team has played with renewed vigor and intensity and it cannot be denied that he has been welcomed by his teammates as a key addition to the club. He has been a vociferous cheerleader on the bench and an aggressive scorer, rebounder and defender on the floor.
The Celtics had begun this last West coast swing by losing the first two games and holding on to a very slim lead in the Atlantic Division. The game before the trade had resulted in a 21-point spanking administered by the Denver Nuggets. That all turned around when Walker joined the club in Utah and immediately notched 24 points and 10 rebounds in a solid win over the Jazz.
That was followed by a yeoman effort in last night’s overtime win over the Phoenix Suns as Walker score 33 points hauled in 13 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. His shooting percentage was low as he hit on 12 for 32 attempts however the misses were still mostly of the good shot variety. No wild three pointers as he was either slashing to the hoop or producing down low. His assists were heads up passes to the open man and it is apparent that even this early in his transition to his new club that the old magic with Paul Pierce is still there.
More importantly than his fine performance since his return has been his attitude. In a weekend interview with the Boston Globe, Walker was typically candid in his remarks and those remarks were what a Celtic fan wants to hear. He is glad to be back with the team and is thankful to Danny Ainge for being courageous enough to trade for him. He wants to be here and in contract negotiations for next year it will not be all about the money.
The Celtics are back home Wednesday night and it will be interesting to see the reception Walker gets from the faithful.
On two other notes, I was concerned about the loss of Payton and the impact on the point guard position. So far no worries there as rookie Delonte West does not look out of place at all. In the Utah game he delivered 16 points and 7 rebounds in 38 minutes and he followed that up with a career high 19 points in 36 minutes last night.
There has been a reduction in Al Jefferson’s minutes as he played 12 minutes and scored 9 points in the Utah game and got only 6 minutes and contributed 5 points in the Phoenix win. This may not be entirely negative from the rookie’s perspective as now he will match up against Walker in practice and will be spelling him at the power forward position.
