Walker outplaying House at the Knicks

[Induna]

Marcus Banks also looked like a respectable basketball player for a while in Minnesota after we traded him.  That certainly died off.

Bill Walker is not Marcus banks there are thousands of players that looked good that turned out bad and equally thousnads that were not given a chance at one club only to flourish at another. Argue each case on it;s merits a throw away comment like that makes no sense at all and is quite meaningless.

In principal you're right; however, the point remains, there have been lots of bad player who have good statistical nights on bad teams. 

When Bill Walker is doing this on a) a team that is good and b) a team that plays defense (probably the same thing), let me know. 

Until then, we need to stop worrying about him. 

No mate you are comparing a pointtwo players who have practically nothing in common apart from the fact that they played for the Celtics it's a senseless argument.

[Jon]

Marcus Banks also looked like a respectable basketball player for a while in Minnesota after we traded him.  That certainly died off.

Bill Walker is not Marcus banks there are thousands of players that looked good that turned out bad and equally thousnads that were not given a chance at one club only to flourish at another. Argue each case on it;s merits a throw away comment like that makes no sense at all and is quite meaningless.

In principal you're right; however, the point remains, there have been lots of bad player who have good statistical nights on bad teams. 

When Bill Walker is doing this on a) a team that is good and b) a team that plays defense (probably the same thing), let me know. 

Until then, we need to stop worrying about him. 

No mate you are comparing a pointtwo players who have practically nothing in common apart from the fact that they played for the Celtics it's a senseless argument.

I don't disagree with that.  But the point remains that there a TON of players in this league that if you played them 35 mpg in a run and gun offense could score 20 point in what would on most nights be a losing effort. 

Until Walker starts scoring 20 a night on a winning team, I'm not going to lose any sleep over this. 

[clover]

Knicks played Walker as guard last night, and started him, according to box score. 8 points.

Watched the game - Walker was in foul trouble early - Chandler got the minutes

Looks like he didn't take--or miss--a lot of shots.  How did his D look?

[Cman]

Why is it that people care so much about young former Celtics?

As soon as anyone is traded/cut, up pop all sorts of posts about the guy.  Where were the posts when the guy was with the Celtics? 

I think part of the reason is that people want to get a sense of "who won" in the deal.  In the case of the recent Walker posts, I think ultimately people are trying to figure out whether getting Nate Rob was worth parting with Walker, House, JR. 

An equally useful exercise might be thinking about trades that almost happened but didn't -- eg: Ray for Martin -- it makes you wonder why we don't see posts like "should've traded for Martin" etc.

[Mr October]

Bill Walker looks like at best he will be an average NBA player. Average wingmen are a dime a dozen.

The only regrets I had, as far as the C's loosing patience, were with Billups and Joe Johnson. Even though they were still really raw, you could see serious moments of potential - Billups's shot, Johnson's instincts and agility.

When Bill Walker has a starting role on a title contender, let me know...

[Induna]

His D sucks I have to admit hence the fouls but Defence is more a mental than a physical thing. He ain't gonna learn it at New york but ge does rebound at least. definitely an area he has to work on but that doesn't mean he can't give you good minutes.

[PLamb]

His D sucks I have to admit hence the fouls but Defence is more a mental than a physical thing. He ain't gonna learn it at New york but ge does rebound at least. definitely an area he has to work on but that doesn't mean he can't give you good minutes.

And this is why he didn't get run here and why criticism against Doc for not playing him should cease

The Celtics in their role they needed from their fifth wing(Pierce, Allen, Daniels and Allen being the top four) was to be a defensive minded guy who could come in, play hard nosed defense, spell guys a few minutes here and there and make sure when they were in the game they didn't cost the team a lead because of their defense

Billy Walker is a good offensive player with potential to be a sparkplug offensive guy off the bench........some day

What he isn't is the type of player the Celtics needed in a fifth wing and because of that he was the proverbial square peg in the round hole

I wish him luck

But he just wasn't suited for what this team needed and luckily he was able to be shipped off with Eddie and a useless JR Giddens to get exactly what this club did need, a scoring PG that can run an offense, has an excellent handle and can play some defense and dish

[Redz]

His D sucks I have to admit hence the fouls but Defence is more a mental than a physical thing. He ain't gonna learn it at New york but ge does rebound at least. definitely an area he has to work on but that doesn't mean he can't give you good minutes.

And this is why he didn't get run here and why criticism against Doc for not playing him should cease

The Celtics in their role they needed from their fifth wing(Pierce, Allen, Daniels and Allen being the top four) was to be a defensive minded guy who could come in, play hard nosed defense, spell guys a few minutes here and there and make sure when they were in the game they didn't cost the team a lead because of their defense

Billy Walker is a good offensive player with potential to be a sparkplug offensive guy off the bench........some day

What he isn't is the type of player the Celtics needed in a fifth wing and because of that he was the proverbial square peg in the round hole

I wish him luck

But he just wasn't suited for what this team needed and luckily he was able to be shipped off with Eddie and a useless JR Giddens to get exactly what this club did need, a scoring PG that can run an offense, has an excellent handle and can play some defense and dish

...which of course begs the question why he was drafted by the team, but i guess that's as much a product of the slot he was drafted in as anything.

[ssspence]

Bill Walker looks like at best he will be an average NBA player. Average wingmen are a dime a dozen.

I do not mean to pick on you specifically, Mr. O, as other posters say this over and over again, but this statement is one of the silliest cliches in the NBA.

Who are these guys just lying around? If they're so easy to find, then why have the Cs struggled to find a reliable back-up since Posey's departure? If Walker turns out to be a guy who can get his own shot with consistency due to size, strength and speed, he won't be a guy you can just find anywhere.

[Jon]

Bill Walker looks like at best he will be an average NBA player. Average wingmen are a dime a dozen.

I do not mean to pick on you specifically, Mr. O, as other posters say this over and over again, but this statement is one of the silliest cliches in the NBA.

Who are these guys just lying around? If they're so easy to find, then why have the Cs struggled to find a reliable back-up since Posey's departure? If Walker turns out to be a guy who can get his own shot with consistency due to size, strength and speed, he won't be a guy you can just find anywhere.

To some extent you're right.  However, I think Marquis Daniels is a good example of Mr. O's point.  We got a wing who could start on some NBA teams and is certainly an NBA rotation player for the LLE.  We likely couldn't have gotten a point guard or big man of the same quality for the LLE. 

[More Banners]

Bill Walker looks like at best he will be an average NBA player. Average wingmen are a dime a dozen.

I do not mean to pick on you specifically, Mr. O, as other posters say this over and over again, but this statement is one of the silliest cliches in the NBA.

Who are these guys just lying around? If they're so easy to find, then why have the Cs struggled to find a reliable back-up since Posey's departure? If Walker turns out to be a guy who can get his own shot with consistency due to size, strength and speed, he won't be a guy you can just find anywhere.

To some extent you're right.  However, I think Marquis Daniels is a good example of Mr. O's point.  We got a wing who could start on some NBA teams and is certainly an NBA rotation player for the LLE.  We likely couldn't have gotten a point guard or big man of the same quality for the LLE. 

Good point...except we only got him for one year at the LLE.  He's using us, hoping he looks good enough to cash in this coming summer.  San Antonio got Bogans for only the minimum, but only for one year, too.  Trying to get by this way works sometimes, but just as often doesn't, IMHO.

Most wings signing multi-year deals (better for team chemistry) at the $2-3 mill range almost always have something significant lacking in their game (our own guys included). 

For some reason, though, when a young player has a flawed game these days, quite a few folks here have nothing good to write about him, and write him off as 100% useless, even though 1) he's playing for bottom dollar, and 2) he can improve.

Still, plenty of players with flawed games get minutes.  With role players, it's not about being the best all-around player, but the one whose talents most fit.

[indeedproceed]

FTR, I still stand as the founding member and president of the Bill Walker Hype Club.

You say potato, I say two handed tomahawk from the free throw line while singing kareoke and doing multivariate calculus slamma jamma in your face.

I mean it's all semantics really.

Bill Walker will get the dangerfield treatment until he plays and starts for a team that sits above .500

Until then he will just be a prospect. Anyone who feels like they can tell you the future of a resilient multi-talented super athletic swingman that is only 22 years old is just flat out guessing, and discussing it further is kinda silly.

All you can do is look at the games and say what he is now. Whether or not he makes the jump is between him and god.

[wdleehi]

His D sucks I have to admit hence the fouls but Defence is more a mental than a physical thing. He ain't gonna learn it at New york but ge does rebound at least. definitely an area he has to work on but that doesn't mean he can't give you good minutes.

And this is why he didn't get run here and why criticism against Doc for not playing him should cease

The Celtics in their role they needed from their fifth wing(Pierce, Allen, Daniels and Allen being the top four) was to be a defensive minded guy who could come in, play hard nosed defense, spell guys a few minutes here and there and make sure when they were in the game they didn't cost the team a lead because of their defense

Billy Walker is a good offensive player with potential to be a sparkplug offensive guy off the bench........some day

What he isn't is the type of player the Celtics needed in a fifth wing and because of that he was the proverbial square peg in the round hole

I wish him luck

But he just wasn't suited for what this team needed and luckily he was able to be shipped off with Eddie and a useless JR Giddens to get exactly what this club did need, a scoring PG that can run an offense, has an excellent handle and can play some defense and dish

...which of course begs the question why he was drafted by the team, but i guess that's as much a product of the slot he was drafted in as anything.

They figure they could develop him into a player that could play defense?

[Cman]

Bill Walker looks like at best he will be an average NBA player. Average wingmen are a dime a dozen.

I do not mean to pick on you specifically, Mr. O, as other posters say this over and over again, but this statement is one of the silliest cliches in the NBA.

Who are these guys just lying around? If they're so easy to find, then why have the Cs struggled to find a reliable back-up since Posey's departure?

I'm sick of talking/reading about Billy Walker, but I do think sspence has a good point -- the Cs have struggled to find a backup for PP (Tony Allen? M. Daniels?)  Hopefully it can be addressed in the offseason -- T. Outlaw perhaps?

[Jon]

I just feel that the trauma of losing from the early '90s to '07 has made people have some sort of unnatural attraction to young Celtic players.  I've been a victim of this disease myself throughout the years with the likes of Ron Mercer, Kedrick Brown, and Gerald Green.  The thing is of course, even someone like Mercer who had a pretty good career was certainly not some piece that we were ever kicking ourselves for having lost. 

I think there's very little chance we'll be looking back 3 years from now bemoaning the loss of Bill Walker.  He may end up being a good rotation player or even a starter.  But there's an extremely small chance he ever becomes something that we couldn't replace down the road. 

Plus, with the C's likely looking to clear cap space after the 2012 season, I'm not sure they would've re-signed Walker after next year anyway.