In a test of Boston Celtics team chemistry, Kemba Walker & Jaylen Brown show just how different things are

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/10/in-a-test-of-boston-celtics-team-chemistry-kemba-walker-jaylen-brown-show-just-how-different-things-are.html



In a test of Boston Celtics team chemistry, Kemba Walker & Jaylen Brown show just how different things are




Posted Oct 25, 2019




BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 25: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the second half against the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden on October 25, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com




BOSTON -- Kemba Walker was cooking.

It’s the type of cooking we’ve seen before. It’s the type that destroyed the Celtics in Charlotte at the end of last season, erasing an 18 point fourth quarter Boston lead in a blink.

It’s the type that earned him the nickname Cardiac Kemba.

With the Celtics down seven in the fourth quarter, he hit a pull up jumper.

30 seconds later, after a Toronto Raptors turnover, Walker hit a 3-pointer to cut it to two.

20 seconds later, after Pascal Siakam finally missed a shot, Jaylen Brown pulled up and missed from 18 feet.

Wait, what?

Everyone in the building knew at that moment it was the wrong shot to take. Brad Stevens was demonstrably upset. When Norm Powell drew a foul and went to the line to calmly stop the Walker onslaught, Brown looked at Walker to give him the “my bad.”

Walker didn’t want to hear it.

“He don’t have to apologize to me. He’s not a bad guy, he works hard,” Walker said after the game. “He took a great shot, he just missed. I didn’t want him to apologize. I wanted him to be confident.”

It’s a moment that might not have existed in a different time. Brown, standing in the lane as Powell shot, looked at Walker who was waving his arms like an NFL ref signaling an incomplete pass. The play, Walker was telling Brown, was over.

“He told me I was good,” Brown said after the game. “Brad had an aneurysm and Kemba was like, ‘You’re good, bro. Just keep playing.’”

And keep playing, he did.


As Kemba resumed ripping the hearts out of the Raptors, Brown pitched in with a monster weak-side block, a layup, and a gorgeous three-quarter court bounce pass to Gordon Hayward on the fast break. He’d later add another block and a 3-pointer to help seal the win.

“I loved (Brown’s) reaction,” Stevens said of the free throw line exchange. “He knew. And I loved Kemba’s reaction. Both of those guys reacted great. That’s what it’s all about.”

It really was a “record scratch” kind of moment. In a way, it was one of the first tests of the team’s chemistry. We were finally getting to see if all the team building in China and rah-rah preseason positivity was real or just some fluffy storyline.

Here they were, in the home opener, one game after the team’s new superstar laid an egg on the road. He was finally cooking. He was hearing it from the crowd, soaking it all in, leading a big comeback. And then a guy, one of last year’s ‘young guys,’ in fact, took that shot.


It could have gone differently.

“It’s great for me just to know that he has your back because you don’t always have that case or that scenario,” Brown said after the game. “Easily somebody could have said something or got upset or thrown a tantrum or whatever, but Kemba was like, ‘No, you’re good. Just play.’ It was the confidence I needed to make sure the next play was the right play.”



bob
MY NOTE: "Brad had an aneurysm". Brad's "aneurysms" look a lot like most people's walk in a park. I guess if Brad isn't singing your praises from the top of TD Banknorth he's "having an aneurysm"


.

Jaylen is a super smart guy...must be reading medical pathogogy texts.

bobheckler wrote:https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/10/in-a-test-of-boston-celtics-team-chemistry-kemba-walker-jaylen-brown-show-just-how-different-things-are.html



In a test of Boston Celtics team chemistry, Kemba Walker & Jaylen Brown show just how different things are




Posted Oct 25, 2019




BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 25: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the second half against the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden on October 25, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com




BOSTON -- Kemba Walker was cooking.

It’s the type of cooking we’ve seen before. It’s the type that destroyed the Celtics in Charlotte at the end of last season, erasing an 18 point fourth quarter Boston lead in a blink.

It’s the type that earned him the nickname Cardiac Kemba.

With the Celtics down seven in the fourth quarter, he hit a pull up jumper.

30 seconds later, after a Toronto Raptors turnover, Walker hit a 3-pointer to cut it to two.

20 seconds later, after Pascal Siakam finally missed a shot, Jaylen Brown pulled up and missed from 18 feet.

Wait, what?

Everyone in the building knew at that moment it was the wrong shot to take. Brad Stevens was demonstrably upset. When Norm Powell drew a foul and went to the line to calmly stop the Walker onslaught, Brown looked at Walker to give him the “my bad.”

Walker didn’t want to hear it.

“He don’t have to apologize to me. He’s not a bad guy, he works hard,” Walker said after the game. “He took a great shot, he just missed. I didn’t want him to apologize. I wanted him to be confident.”

It’s a moment that might not have existed in a different time. Brown, standing in the lane as Powell shot, looked at Walker who was waving his arms like an NFL ref signaling an incomplete pass. The play, Walker was telling Brown, was over.

“He told me I was good,” Brown said after the game. “Brad had an aneurysm and Kemba was like, ‘You’re good, bro. Just keep playing.’”

And keep playing, he did.


As Kemba resumed ripping the hearts out of the Raptors, Brown pitched in with a monster weak-side block, a layup, and a gorgeous three-quarter court bounce pass to Gordon Hayward on the fast break. He’d later add another block and a 3-pointer to help seal the win.

“I loved (Brown’s) reaction,” Stevens said of the free throw line exchange. “He knew. And I loved Kemba’s reaction. Both of those guys reacted great. That’s what it’s all about.”

It really was a “record scratch” kind of moment. In a way, it was one of the first tests of the team’s chemistry. We were finally getting to see if all the team building in China and rah-rah preseason positivity was real or just some fluffy storyline.

Here they were, in the home opener, one game after the team’s new superstar laid an egg on the road. He was finally cooking. He was hearing it from the crowd, soaking it all in, leading a big comeback. And then a guy, one of last year’s ‘young guys,’ in fact, took that shot.


It could have gone differently.

“It’s great for me just to know that he has your back because you don’t always have that case or that scenario,” Brown said after the game. “Easily somebody could have said something or got upset or thrown a tantrum or whatever, but Kemba was like, ‘No, you’re good. Just play.’ It was the confidence I needed to make sure the next play was the right play.”



bob
MY NOTE:  "Brad had an aneurysm".  Brad's "aneurysms" look a lot like most people's walk in a park.  I guess if Brad isn't singing your praises from the top of TD Banknorth he's "having an aneurysm"


.

Those guys spend an awful lot of time with Brad. I am sure they are more attuned to his body language and moods, and sense things we wouldn't notice.

After just 2 games - we already are arriving at season spanding conclusions. So quick to jump on - or off the band wagon.

swish

Swish,

I think the article is seeking to draw a contrast to last season in terms of chemistry .

KJ

swish wrote:After just 2 games - we already are arriving at season spanding conclusions. So quick to jump on - or off the band wagon.

swish

I agree with your comment.
There’s no conclusions to be drawn after 3 games.
Boston had a good 4th quarter against Toronto and a good 2nd half against NY.
Other than that, they haven’t played very well.

Many were talking about the Clippers like they are the Warriors from the last 5 years.
Then they got smacked around by the Suns last night.

Over reactions and over analysis from October NBA games usually are not accurate in the long run.