Boston Celtics: 3 players facing most pressure in 2019-20

Kemba Walker

Obtained via sign-and-trade from the Charlotte Hornets, Kemba Walker replaces Kyrie Irving as the Boston Celtics starting point guard. Finishing last year with third-team All-NBA honors, Kemba has the ability to fill the gap left by Irving, who upped sticks to Brooklyn during free agency.

Replacing a top-five point guard is no easy task, even when that point guard is as mercurial as Irving. However, Walker will bring a calmness to the team which didn’t exist under Kyrie’s leadership last season.

The supporting cast Walker finds in Boston is far superior to anything he had to work with during his time with the Hornets, prompting theories regarding a breakout season for Walker himself.

Last season Walker participated in 866 possessions in which he operated as the ball handler during pick-and-roll situations, hitting 347 of his 777 shot attempts (good for 44.7 percent).

Playing alongside Jayson Tatum, Enes Kanter and Gordon Hayward should help increase the success rate of his shots or passes out of the pick-and-roll.

Finishing first in pick-and-roll usage as the ball handler will be difficult to replicate on the Celtics, as there are more mouths to feed, pointing to an increase in assists or hockey assists as we move through the season.

Walker did have struggles when defending spot-up shooters last year though, ranking at 337th in the league for his defensive rating in this play type per Synergy. This could be worrisome for Celtics fans should that level of struggle continue to start the year.

Brad Stevens is known for optimizing the talent at his disposal, with multiple players having career years under his tutelage, while having Marcus Smart defending the opposing team’s best shooter will also lighten the load for Kemba.

Walker will be facing pressure heading into the new season. In fact it is possibly the most pressure he will have had to deal with during his professional career. There is a difference between playing in Charlotte and Boston.

Now is the time for Kemba to show the NBA world what he can really do when provided with a solid supporting cast and that he is worth the contract he signed this summer. That alone is a lot of pressure. Add that to the media and fan base in Boston and Kemba has a lot to prove this year.