The contributions Boston Celtics’ role players have made this season probably didn’t surprise Kemba Walker.
Kedow Walker, the Celtics point guard’s cousin and best friend, revealed to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach last month the star’s initial impressions of a some of his younger or lower-profile teammates. After arriving in Boston last summer in free agency following a sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets, Walker joined a Celtics roster that includes nine players who had fewer than two years of NBA experience. Himmelsbach on Friday published what Walker learned right away about a few of his new teammates.
“He was like, ‘Yo, Brad Wanamaker is tough. He’s just here every day and so solid,'” Kedow Walker said of Kemba Walker. “And he was like, ‘Yo, Robert Williams might be a better (Houston Rockets center) Clint Capela.’
“‘Grant Williams might talk a lot, but he’ll be 10-15 years in the NBA. Carsen (Edwards), I hate the way he wears his uniform, but dude is solid.’
“‘I go to practice, and there are dudes busting my (butt).'”
Wanamaker and Robert Williams played sparingly as Celtics rookies in 2018-19, and Grant Williams and Edwards both are rookies, so it makes sense Walker never had a chance to size them up while he was in Charlotte.
Nevertheless, much of the promise Walker saw in the quartet in training camp has transferred into the regular season as Grant Williams and Wanamaker have cemented themselves in the Celtics’ rotation. Meanwhile, Edwards and Robert Williams remain determined to earn more playing time.
After losing Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and other veterans, few predicted the Celtics to remain among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Yet Boston’s record is 43-21, good for third place in the conference standings. Walker and the Celtics’ other stars receive the lion’s share of the credit, but they know well that Boston wouldn’t be flying high without the hard work of some of their freshest faces.
