Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways after huge play-in tournament win over Washington

Kemba Walker steps up in a big way

People who follow the league all knew that Kemba should be the guy that gives Boston a spark, he’s talented enough, he’s electric with the ball, he plays hard, it’s all there. But the reality is nobody knew if he was going to show up. Against the Wizards, they got the Charlotte Hornets Kemba Walker. His infectious smile and nice guy persona he wore on his face but his play was that of a Lion.

Kemba had a few timely baskets in big spots, one being a 3 off of a pass that led to a Wizards timeout. He drew a few fouls, that lead to and-ones, which in my opinion is one of the most demoralizing plays in sports. Similar to giving up a lead-off home run in baseball or a pick-six in football, an and-1 can swing a game in a second, and Kemba had a few throughout the game.

Kemba had 29 points, including six 3-point field goals. The offensive numbers were important and fun to watch, but what impressed me the most was the fight he showed in this game. The Celtics have been soft all year, so soft you just want to shake each of the starting five to get some fight out of them.

Early in the game, Kemba Walker got a technical foul. I’m a huge fan of using the technical foul as a way to get your point across to a referee or to hype your team up. Kemba’s technical foul did both of those things. He went hard to the rim, got fouled and the ref missed it. Kemba let him have it, got “T’d” up and the pilot light was lit for the Celtics from that moment on.

Along with Tech, his winning plays were incredible, I counted three charges he took, two of which were on Russell Westbrook and one on Bradley Beal. That’s three fouls on the opposing team’s two best players. If it wasn’t for Tatum’s unreal performance, which I’ll get into next, this game would be known as the “Kemba Game.”