Walker's Last Stand?

Meet the new scapegoat, same as the old scapegoat. His name is Walker and its all his fault. Or so it would seem.

Now, has he had the best series? Absolutely not. His brain fart cost him a game, but it didn't cost us the game. His shooting has been off lately, but his rebounding has been solid. I'd go on, but ExplodingHeinson puts it well in his post. Besides, like hagrid, I'd prefer to leave the offseason discussions for the offseason. There will be plenty of time for that when we don't have playoff games to focus on.

Is he playing for his future in Boston? Probably. But that's been the case since he got here, and he'll be judged on the body of his work. I don't think Ainge is so trigger happy that he'd make a kneejerk move based on one series (playoffs or not). Still, it will factor into the decision and these next few games (positive thinking) will be important.

As for the series so far, we have lots of blame to go around for being in this hole. I'm not saying Walker is above reproach. What I'm saying is that it is silly and shortsighted to heap all the blame on him. Doc, Ricky, Gary, the Young Guns, and even Paul have struggled for stretches (and were brilliant for other stretches).

If this team could ever put it all together, they'd be scary. If they can't put it all together,... Well, like I said, there will be plenty of time for that.

Update: Nice writeup by Jackie MacMullan in the Globe.