Kemba Walker talks leadership, sticking together after Indy win

Justin Quinn
·3 min read
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While he might not be the sort of leader who shouts things at his teammates on the court, it’s undeniable Boston Celtics veteran point guard Kemba Walker is still one of his team’s most important leaders nonetheless.

The New Yorker has been taking the team’s recent struggles to heart, and has put the burden on himself and fellow veterans to right the ship. In a game vs. the Indiana Pacers that saw him put up a season-high 32 points while helping coax the best out of his teammates with six complimentary assists, the UConn product looked like the sort of third star the Celtics will need on nights when Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum don’t have enough energy to carry the team.

And Friday’s win was definitely one of those nights.

"I try to bring that aspect to the game every night -- my leadership," explained Walker. "I try to use my voice as much as possible to keep my teammates up when things are not going well," he added. I know guys look to me for situation like that. [We've] "just got to stay upbeat and stay positive, just bring that energy to the team," Walker explained. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1365711160440475653?s=20

The Bronx native went on to explain how he and the rest of the veterans have the duty to carry the team through the tough times they've been experiencing of late.

"That's on me," Walker explained. "That's on Jaylen [Brown], that's on Jayson [Tatum], that's on Marcus [Smart]. Tristan [Thompson] and Jeff [Teague] are going to add onto that as well. That's on the veteran guys, as well as Brad [Stevens] too. We've got to keep it together. We can't let nobody go in any other direction, even though things might not be going as well as you would like to at the moment."

"But things could change really fast, so the only way you can get out of the struggle is by doing it together," he added. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1365704786729988104?s=20

While one win does not a slump end, Friday night's victory over Indiana was certainly a big step in that direction. The team indeed stuck together under Walker's leadership on the floor, and picked up the slack in the absence of Brown or Tatum's A-games. Doing it again on a rotating basis for when Walker sits on the second half of back-to-backs or when one or both of the Jays is not having a good night will be crucial moving forward if the team wants to stay above .500. [jwplayer YkxyD0n7-z6KDnl0B] This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=47137,47107,47109,47104] [listicle id=47110]

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