Day 3: Walker Impressing

[BillessuR6]

What stood out to Rivers today was the play of rookie Bill Walker, who has been attacking the basket relentlessly in the last few days of scrimmage. Walker has finished at the rim with a few loud dunks already, not to mention a coast-to-coast finger roll toward the end of Tuesday's morning session.

"Billy Walker is playing extremely well right now. J.R. [Giddens] has to catch up. But he'll get there," Rivers said, noting that it's tough for the rookies to not be in awe of their All-Star teammates. "[Walker] attacks the basket as you saw today, and we're telling him it's a competition. They're your teammates, and it's a competition. I thought today, [Walker] came to play basketball and not be a spectator."

On the other hand, Rivers said that Giddens is still spectating. "Everything's new for him. J.R.'s at that point where all young guys get at; he's thinking instead of playing," Rivers said. "That doesn't go away for a while, so that doesn't concern us at all."

The good news is, help is on the way. Ray Allen spent several minutes with Giddens after practice handing out pointers from things he observed in the scrimmage, and Paul Pierce had a similar chat with Walker while others were handling media interviews.

Link: http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/blog/po ... 08-09.html

Can`t wait to see Walker in action. It will be interesting to see who will get more minutes this season, Walker or Giddens...

[drza]

It seems set up for Walker to, as he's more of a SF than Giddens (who is more SG), and since the primary back-up wing is a SG it would seem like the opportunity is there for a forward. Plus, in all honesty Walker was a better pro prospect than Giddens before the injuries, so if Walker's knee really is healthy I would expect him to be the better player out of the gates.

[Egregious Blunder]

walkers still got to beat out miles for playing time. great news though!

[SonicYouth34]

walkers still got to beat out miles for playing time. great news though!

Don't forget that Miles is gonna miss the first ten games, so Walker should get a chance to show us what he's got and possibly steal that back up SF role. I'm rooting for that to happen because I've loved Walker as a prospect since he was in High School.

[Gant]

If Miles is healthy (after the suspension) no one's going to take all his minutes, because he needs to be on the floor in some situations because of his height. The more quality players the better. I'm very impressed with Wallker playing so early after the knee procedure. He's a smart tough kid.

[Joselo16]

Kid (Walker) sounds like a steal so far. He also won't be intimidated by anyone (got into it with KG).

[GreenGrizz]

If he had gone to Kansas, UNC or UCLA. He would have been a lotto pick despite his injuries.

[GuyClinch]

Knowing Doc - Miles will be in the mix for the PF role so I don't know that Walker is direct competition. It would be cool if Walker gets some burn though as he would stick it to those he isnt' ready he has to go to Europe people..

[LongTimeFan]

It is interesting how Walker and Giddens are playing out.

Giddens the older first round pick had an agent and a guaranteed 3 year contract walking into the gym. The Celtics organised a summer camp to teach the new prospects the system and he went home. Basicaly, he was controlled by his agents and lawyers. Now he gets to pre-season and he's a little lost, understandbly.

Walker gets drafted with nothing guaranteed except he's willing to go to Europe. He comes to Waltham and just goes to work. The paid part he'll worry about later. He attacks the summer, impresses to get a roster slot, becomes his own agent and lawyer, and gets a deal. He of course stayed at the summer camp. He took control of his situation. Now preseason starts and he's trying to take control again.

Pre-season for the Celtics is so much fun. Watching the Celtic contender for the steal of the draft play out is so cool.

[hiphop1]

If and its a big IF, he stays healthy he is going to be something speacial. I think he could very well turn into the same type of player VC was in the early days, but more likely he will be more of a Maggette clone which I sill take in a heart beat.

[humblebum]

Does anybody else wonder how highly Ainge rated Bill Walker in this years draft? Was he a top 20 prospect in Danny's mind? Top 10? Who knows but just looking at the guy you definitely know he has the physical tools and stature to be a big time player. If we can get him into a well defined role that fits his strengths it seems like he'll have a good chance of succeeding early in his career.

Any questions about athleticism off the bench now? Tony, Walker, Miles, Powe, POB... That's a pretty superior group of physical specimens.

[LenBiasBaller]

We will def. have a better idea once the preseason starts. We can then shift through what was fluff and what was real. Its kind of funny that all the players with question marks going into this season have gotten the most praise. O'bryant, TA, Walker...

I do like what i'm hearing about Walker how he was jawing with KG and going hard strong to the cup...very encouraging. I think we found a diamond in the 2nd round...DA is a beast. I sill have no idea who's going to get cut. Right now it would seem to be either Sam/Darius or Pruitt. I want it to be Sam but we'll see...

[Mahoney_jr]

I'm quite sure Pruitt will get dealt or cut.


And on topic: I am so excited about Bill Walker. This is a helluva talent. It might be that we always dream about how good he could be, while he's nursing some knee issures but I have a pretty good feeling about the medical staff of the Celtics right now and the long-time-health of any Celtic.

[LongTimeFan]

Humblebud:

DA drafting system has become more and more hidden for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, I have an idea of how high he'd have been ranked based on past performance.

First DA openly admits his rankings are entirely different than just about everyone else.

Second he had Rondo in the top 5 and we got him for cash and future cash at 21.

He probably had Walker in the top 10 on his board. Giddens, too.

[campybatman]

walkers still got to beat out miles for playing time. great news though!

Why is it assumed that Miles will be Pierce's backup? I'm not directing that at you, I'm asking the question in general. Isn't Miles competing for minutes like everyone else? Didn't the team learn from a previous mistake of giving Telfair serious minutes his first season with Boston before he even was anything for the team. I don't feel it's Miles' job to lose--it's his job to earn. As said, he'll be serving a ten-game suspension from the start of the regular season. With that said, Walker has as good an opportunity to earn consistent minutes filling in to allow Pierce rest as any other of his teammates.

I always like it when Boston can draft or sign a draftee who can step right in (being a rookie) at some point during the regular season and contribute. If Walker's that player next season, then it makes Ainge look good and makes the team better sooner.

[DJToLarry]

After the Kedrick Brown/Gerald Green experiences, I don't want to put to much expectations on him. But he has shown me a lot. Doing his own contract, coming right up to Boston after the draft and working out like a mad man, not backing down in practices, jawing with KG. Just strikes me as someone who says: "This is my chance, and I'm doing whatever it takes to make sure I make the most of it." Kedrick and Gerald never once made me feel that way. In a way he reminds me of Kendrick Perkins. He was mature when he came to the Cs. Lost the weight, great attitude, competes, doesn't back down from no one, very mature from day one.

[cloverleaf]

I think you're right about all of Walker's positive actions, and if you listened to his interviews from when he first came to town he sounds surprisingly bright, articulate, substantial and mature. He's three years younger than Giddens (who's also a year older than O'Bryant and Pruitt), but I bet it's Giddens and Pruitt who start the year in the developmental league instead.

[LenBiasBaller]

After the Kedrick Brown/Gerald Green experiences, I don't want to put to much expectations on him. But he has shown me a lot. Doing his own contract, coming right up to Boston after the draft and working out like a mad man, not backing down in practices, jawing with KG. Just strikes me as someone who says: "This is my chance, and I'm doing whatever it takes to make sure I make the most of it." Kedrick and Gerald never once made me feel that way. In a way he reminds me of Kendrick Perkins. He was mature when he came to the Cs. Lost the weight, great attitude, competes, doesn't back down from no one, very mature from day one.

Spot on...the kid did his own contract and was like "it's no big deal, I just asked a lot of questions and read everything"....He strikes me as a guy who is naturally motivated to do whatever is in his path which is a great trait.

If Bill does pan out then he helps improve one of our biggest weaknesses from last year which is athleticism. LoL...you ever watch his youtube clips the dude does windmills on 95% percent of his dunks...I like everything i've heard about him so i'm amped up about Walker.

We will see if DA adds another GEM to his collection of 2nd rounders...the odds are against you to even stay around in the league.

[LenBiasBaller]

After the Kedrick Brown/Gerald Green experiences, I don't want to put to much expectations on him. But he has shown me a lot. Doing his own contract, coming right up to Boston after the draft and working out like a mad man, not backing down in practices, jawing with KG. Just strikes me as someone who says: "This is my chance, and I'm doing whatever it takes to make sure I make the most of it." Kedrick and Gerald never once made me feel that way. In a way he reminds me of Kendrick Perkins. He was mature when he came to the Cs. Lost the weight, great attitude, competes, doesn't back down from no one, very mature from day one.

Spot on...the kid did his own contract and was like "it's no big deal, I just asked a lot of questions and read everything"....He strikes me as a guy who is naturally motivated to do whatever is in his path which is a great trait.

If Bill does pan out then he helps improve one of our biggest weaknesses from last year which is athleticism. LoL...you ever watch his youtube clips the dude does windmills on 95% percent of his dunks...I like everything i've heard about him so i'm amped up about Walker.

We will see if DA adds another GEM to his collection of 2nd rounders...the odds are against you to even stay around in the league.

[Havlicek17]

A lot of "experts" before the draft last year had Walker listed as a lottery pick. But he got hurt in pre-draft workouts and now whoever selected him would have to give him his 3rd knee surgery, and hope he could fully recover and stay healthy. That dropped his stock quite a bit, but I think most experts prior to the draft still had him going late 1st round.

I remember Danny talking about Walker and JR after the draft and he said he drafted JR first because he was a very good defensive player in addition to his offensive in college. Remember, Doc is only going to play rookies if they can play defense. Danny is trying to find rookies that can contribute on a team focused on veterans and defense.

But just like he did with Rondo, Danny just couldn't pass on Walker. We gave cash for the pick, so the downside is minimal but the upside is a lottery pick player if he stays healthy. He's a rare talent. I read a lot about the kid when he was in high school with Mayo, and remember reading how people would come out to see these guys play in AAU and HS all star events around the country, and a lot of them walked away more impressed with Walker than Mayo. He played with Beasley in College for one year coming off knee surgery when he got hurt the previous year (think Tony Allen trying to play last year) and was almost as good as Beasley. The kid can really ball...

Since joining the Celtics he's been able to show enough skills to convince coaches and mgt that they need to sign him instead of sending him to Europe, did his own contract (gotta love that!) and has been one of the most impressive in camp. Let's hope he stays healthy, cause we stole him if he does.