Though the Boston Celtics lost the premier talent that is Kyrie Irving this offseason, the team managed to patch up the hole he left behind by signing Kemba Walker. While replacing an All-Star with another All-Star is always seen as a positive, in regard to how this roster currently stands, was Walker in fact the optimal point guard replacement?
Heading into the 2018 campaign, with a healthy Kyrie Irving running the show at point guard, the Boston Celtics were penciled in as one of the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Their overall talent seemed, on paper, likely to be too much for opposing defenses to face off against.
However, fast forward a year later and we see a team coming off of an upsetting second round exit to the Milwaukee Bucks and with two of their franchise cornerstones off the roster heading into 2019.
Though the team lost both Irving and Al Horford this offseason via free agency, Boston managed to soften the overall blow by nabbing one of the league’s best point guards, Kemba Walker. With this, the franchise replaced an All-Star with another at the same position, thus keeping the status of their backcourt as one of the best in the Eastern Conference.
When examining the current state of this Boston Celtics roster, it’s hard to look past the team’s impressive arsenal of talented individuals. From Jayson Tatum to Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown to Enes Kanter, Beantown seems to have one of the most talented units heading into 2019.
While having a plethora of skilled ballers on a roster always seems like an ideal scenario, ultimately, it’s up to the players to make things work. According to President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge, last season’s struggles were a result of the team’s talented individuals playing solely for themselves.
"“Certain guys thought they were going to be All-Stars this year,” he said. “And they work hard all summer to reach these individual goals, but we just had too much individual goals."
The more talented players a roster has, the more the ball needs to be distributed. Even with the losses of Irving and Horford, the Boston Celtics still consisted of numerous mouths to feed on offense. And, while adding Walker certainly wasn’t a poor decision by the franchise, in regard to how the roster is currently constructed, perhaps the more ideal choice would have been pursuing a point guard with a game predicated on getting his teammates open looks rather than looking for a shot of his own.
Someone like….. oh I don’t know….. Chris Paul perhaps?
Sure, go on! Laugh. Make fun of me in the comments section ( please don’t 🙂 ). But before you do, I encourage you to listen to my reasoning.
Earlier this offseason, the Houston Rockets made it abundantly clear they were willing to move on from Paul and the remaining $85 million left on his less-than-stellar contract after reports surfaced of a tumultuous relationship between the point guard and current face of the franchise James Harden.
Had the Boston Celtics actually constructed a package that would have worked financially while also including future assets, acquiring Paul could have been a real possibility. And, frankly, I believe it would have done wonders for this team.
Say what you will about CP3’s ridiculous contract, his style of play would be really been beneficial for the development of young bucks Tatum and Brown.
Both players were expected to take a huge leap last season after such an impressive 2018 postseason run. However, unfortunately, they never seemed to live up to the hype.
A lot of their struggles from 2018-19 can be choked up to a lack of offensive touches as, previously stated, the roster consisted of a plethora of talented individuals on that side of the ball all looking to get their own opportunities.
With Kyrie Irving being the team’s primary ball handler, if anyone was to take it upon themselves to get his teammates more involved in the offense, it was him. However, the problem was, Irving has never been one to pass up a scoring opportunity in favor of collecting an assist.
Throughout his eight year career, the 27-year-old has garnered an average of 5.7 assists per game. This is by no means a knock on Irving but, rather, stating a fact that his game is not built on facilitating but, rather, getting his own look at the basket. He’s a scorer through and through and has made a name for himself as one of the best players in the association because of this aspect of his game.
This too is similar with Walker as, though he has proven to be an elite scorer (19.8 points per game for his career) his facilitating game has simply left fans longing for more (5.5 assists per game).
While both point guards are players every franchise should be overjoyed with if acquired, in regard to how the Celtics are constructed, perhaps their specific styles of play are not necessarily the best fit. Chris Paul’s style of play, on the other hand, very well could have meshed perfectly with the franchise’s current makeup.
Though the veteran has proven himself to be a fantastic scorer at the professional level (18.5 points per game for his career) he has made a name for himself as being one of the best passers the game has ever seen (9.7 assists per game) as well as one of the best defenders at his position (2.2 steals per game). He has led the league in assists on four separate occasions throughout his tenure, has eclipsed the double digit assists average on five separate occasions and has led the league in steals six times.
The past two seasons, while many have viewed both campaigns as “down years” for the point guard, Paul still seemed as effective as ever in the passing game as well as in the steals department, as he averaged 7.9 assists & 1.7 steals in 2017-18 and 8.2 assists & 2.0 steals in 2018-19.
Look, I get it, Paul’s contract is not something a team should long for. However, when looking at his play style and leadership skills — voted by the players to be President of the NBPA — the future Hall of Famer could have proven to be a major plus for a team with no true distributor and a crazy amount of offensive firepower.
However, what’s done is done. Chris Paul is now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder — for now — and Kemba Walker will be the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics. This is not an article stating my unhappiness with the team’s Walker signing. This is not me saying I believe the Boston Celtics are “doomed” to repeat the underwhelming 2018-19 campaign.
In the end, this is simply me saying the franchise needs a point guard who is more than willing to share the rock with his extremely talented running mates — specifically Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Could Walker be that guy? That’s certainly the hope!
All I know is Chris Paul has proven time and time again that he is exactly that type of player.