Charlotte Bobcats: Is Kemba Walker A Future Star Or Stat-Stuffer On Bad Team?
Can Kemba Walker rise to stardom? (Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com)
After struggling in his rookie season, the Charlotte Bobcats’ Kemba Walker improved significantly during his sophomore campaign as illustrated by his statistics. Unfortunately, his individual success didn’t necessarily translate to team success as Charlotte was again praying the lottery ping-pong balls bounced in their favor after the team’s 21-61 record.
That’s actually an improvement upon last year’s historically terrible winning percentage of .106. Which begs the question: Is Walker truly a star in the making or are his stats simply fluctuated by the fact that he’s a good player on a bad team?
In the 2012-13 season, Walker was one of the most improved players in the NBA. The second-year point guard from UConn tapped into his 2011 NCAA championship winning form in which he electrified the crowd with his lightning-in-a-bottle style of play. He has given the Charlotte faithful a sliver of hope and excitement for the future while presently keeping on the edge of their seats with his killer crossovers and blazing quickness.
Thanks to his dance background during his younger days in the Bronx, Kemba is almost impossible to stay in front of when he goes into his shake’n’bake mode. And when his mid-range jump shot (which he loves) is working, it’s going to be a long night for the poor soul that has to try and contain him.
At that point, it’s a matter of pick your poison, whether it’s the blow-by or the pull-up J in your grill.
Exhibit A:
The amazing thing is he does most of his damage inside, despite being undersized. He is adept at finishing with floaters and altering his shot in order to finish among the giants he meets on his way to the basket. That has helped him scoring nearly 50 percent of his 470 attempts within eight feet of the hoop.
Sure he’s officially listed at 6’1”, but really he’s about 5’11” at best. And even if he is actually 6’1”, Kemba Walker is still relatively small for an NBA player. He’s also developed a respectable 3-point game, shooting 32 percent from deep.
And in case you were wondering, yes he can dunk. Exhibit B:
As we all know, superstars are the ones we turn to in times of need and what better time than when the game is on the line in the dying seconds? Walker showed during his UConn days that he has ice running through his veins, playing hero for the Huskies at games’ end. Remember this?
He hasn’t had many opportunities to show off his clutch gene in the NBA since the Bobcats aren’t exactly always competitive at games’ end.
Walker is an able scorer from all over the court. (Photo by Craig Downing/Flickr.com)
Nevertheless, he’s the go to guy for Charlotte as he has as a 25 percent usage rate, the 16th-highest among players who have played at least 75 games and 30 minutes a game in 2012-13. And to some degree, the 23-year-old has responded, as he has an Estimated Wins Added rating of 10.7 this season. That’s sixth among point guards and higher than Jrue Holiday and Kyrie Irving, who are both considered stars, although the latter played in just 57 games.
Defensively, the Cats are still terrible ranking 29th in points allowed per contest, conceding an average of 102.7 a game. However, Kemba Walker has been doing his bit as he utilized his athleticism and quickness as illustrated by his two steals per contest.
Until the Charlotte Bobcats somehow create a winning culture (which won’t be anytime soon), Kemba Walker will never get the recognition he deserves. And despite being talented, he won’t get a sniff at all-stardom. Particularly when you consider how stacked the NBA is at the guard spots in either conference.