Are the Boston Celtics Kemba Walker’s or Gordon Hayward’s team?
The question is always a tricky one. It’s a necessary ask, though. Just who exactly is the guy that will require the ball in his hands at the end of high-stakes playoff games for the Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker or Gordon Hayward?
The age-old question of who the top dog in the yard is not one exclusive to the Boston Celtics or even the NBA. Everyone is infatuated with knowing who is the commander in every sport at every level across every gender.
When it comes to the Celtics, though, it is a hard question to answer. There are some nights where Kemba Walker is unable to be caught, like a mouse running through a cat shelter with a rue scent.
Gordon Hayward has had nights where he looks fully recovered from his brutal 2017 ankle injury and looks like the 2016-17 All-Star version that attacked from all angles. It’s truly a hard question to ask–especially so early in the season.
Right now, both guys are having nights where they need the ball in their hands. Whereas Hayward was the man in Cleveland this past week, Walker has taken over games such as his hostile takeover of Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks.
The thing is, though, there won’t be playoff games in either the Mecca or the Land. It’ll come down to games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers come May and June. Who will have the ball in their hands in the waning moments of elimination games?
If you believe in the power of volume, Kemba Walker is the man. As the team’s floor commander, Walker has led the way with 18 shot attempts per game for the Boston Celtics. That has translated to a shooting percentage of under 40%.
In four shot attempts less per game, Hayward is converting on a staggering 56% of his attempts. Now of course, these numbers will change the deeper we get into the season. 56% seems a bit unsustainable for a guy taking close to four 3-pointers a game with a 44% conversion rate currently. On the flip-side, Walker seems capable of upping his percentages–plus the small sample-size is affected by his Boston Celtics regular season debut dud in Philadelphia.
Luckily, both men are scorching nets from beyond the arc. As previously mentioned, Hayward is close to 45%, which from basic understanding of the number line, isn’t far off from the league’s highest percentage of 47% from Joe Harris last season. Figure that tailing off, but given his prior career-high of 41.5%, it isn’t a guarantee.
Walker on the other hand, is shooting a staggering 41% (that’s not the staggering part) on nine attempts so far in 2019-20 (there’s the stagger). Now the reason I mention 3-point percentages isn’t because I am imagining either man hitting Damian Lillard-against-OKC-esque 35-footers (I am though now that Houdini mentioned it) but because that is the key to crunch-time offense.
Until someone wins even a regular season MVP, there won’t be a need to say the Boston Celtics are either man’s team right now. No one should have that approach to the game until someone proves it in the playoffs. More importantly, no one should have that mindset in the closing seconds of a close game.
That was a certain flat-earther’s mindset against the Milwaukee Bucks and well…that “I’ll come back if you’ll have me” sentiment turned into tampering with the Brooklyn Nets and a one-way ticket out of Beantown.
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The point here is that the Boston Celtics are no one’s team. At the end of games, the open man should be found after a play is drawn up by Brad Stevens. The team is loaded with talent, but not one member of the team has yet to earned that LeBron James or Michael Jordan-esque trust from the head coach when pivotal games are hanging in the balance.
*This article was written before Gordon Hayward’s injury Saturday night.