Walker out to beat Celtics, not get even
New York Knicks forward Bill Walker (5) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe (10) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. (Jan. 30, 2011) Credit: MCT Photo
BOSTON -- Bill Walker insists he doesn't have any extra motivation just because the Knicks are about to face the Celtics in the playoffs.
Walker couldn't crack the rotation during his one-plus seasons in Beantown, stuck behind two of Boston's Big 3, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. He was traded in 2010, considered a throw-in in the deal that sent Nate Robinson to Boston and brought Eddie House to New York.
So with the Knicks set to begin their first-round Eastern Conference series here at TD Garden Sunday night, one would think Walker would be salivating at the chance to play Boston.
"I don't go off on that basis," said the 6-6, 220-pound swingman, who started Wednesday night's's regular-season finale against the Celtics, scoring 12 points in the Knicks' 112-102 loss. "I'm excited to be a part of a team in the playoffs. We just happen to be playing the Celtics. In order to beat them, we're going to have to play extremely harder than them and that's it. Everything else is irrelevant. Player movement happens in the NBA."
Perhaps, but there's something to be said for sticking it to a team that gave up on you. Walker said the Celtics never really gave him a legitimate shot to flash his skills, and he's been given more of an opportunity during his 88 games as a Knick.
"Playing behind two Hall of Famers in a position that I was playing -- those guys were playing at the time about 40 minutes a game," Walker said. "So there really wasn't a lot of time to go in and show my abilities. But at the same time, I learned a lot of things from those guys, so it wasn't like a bad experience.
"I learned a lot about the game, how to play the game, and it was fun for me."
But now Walker would like to have some fun beating his old team and be a big part of the Knicks' bench rotation. But he's on the fringe sometimes because Mike D'Antoni gets frustrated with his inconsistent effort, especially defensively.
But Walker's ability to shoot the three and stretch the defense could give Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony room to roam inside, making it tougher for the Celtics to roll double teams in their direction.
"We definitely have to bring it," Walker said. "We know Chauncey [Billups], Amar'e [Stoudemire] and Melo are going to bring it. It's the other guys that have to come in and we have to do our job. We have to give something."
