Kendrick Perkins doesn’t see Kemba Walker ‘fit’ in the Celtics

February 24, 2021 | 12:40 pm

Kendrick Perkins doesn’t like what he’s seeing with his former team right now.

In particular, the former Celtics player doesn’t like how point guard Kemba Walker is playing. After the Celtics’ 110-107 loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday, Perkins suggested it might be time to leave Walker.

“I just don’t see Kemba fitting in anymore,” said Perkins at NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Postgame Live. ”“ Like, for me, the Celtics are better off without him on the floor. I mean, I’m sorry to be being tough on Kemba and a little bit critical, but it’s just – he’s not filling that void now on the offensive side and intensifying when it’s more important and on the defensive side he’s still a responsibility. “

Tuesday’s game marked another poor shooting performance for Walker. Despite winning 21 points in the defeat, Walker hit 8 out of 19 on the field, including eight consecutive missed shots over a two-quarter period. Walker’s performance on Tuesday comes in the wake of his poor shot against the Pelicans on Sunday, in which he shot 5 out of 21 from the field and 1 out of 12 out of 3 points.

Walker’s performance in his last two games has been history for much of his season. The four-time All-Star averages 17.3 points per game, while shooting 37.5% on the field and 34.9% on 3-point territory, all the worst numbers he has achieved since his first seasons in the league.

The 30-year-old lost the first 11 Celtics games of the season after receiving knee injections in the off-season. Walker played with a strict restriction of minutes in his first games ago and is unlikely to play on consecutive days.

Before the last two games, Walker had an extension of four games in which he showed signs of his All-Star game. The stretch was crowned with the best career performance of 28 points in the Celtics’ 121-109 victory over the Hawks on Friday.

Walker’s difficulties certainly contributed to the Celtics’ disappointing record, which is now below 0.500 at 15-16. Perkins does not see this team reaching the same heights as it has in recent seasons.

“At the moment, if we are looking at this Celtics team as it is built and we think this is a team that could possibly win this year’s Eastern Conference and reach the finals, we are all kidding ourselves,” Perkins said. “I don’t know if this Celtics team will be able to get out of the first round, to be honest, and that’s scary.”

The Celtics will try to return to 0.500 on Wednesday when they face the Hawks for the third time in eight days. With Wednesday’s game being the second Celtics game in two days, Walker is unlikely to play.