Charlotte Hornets Prove They Can #WinWithWalker In The Playoffs
The Charlotte Hornets swarmed the Miami Heat to take Game 3 behind Kemba Walker’s leadership.
More than a month ago an ad went across the Internet. It featured Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker and the ad was a brilliant campaign for him to be voted the NBA’s Most Improved Player for 2016.
Walker finished second in the MIP voting (that honor went to C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers), but that didn’t stop him from firing up his team as they sought to avoid sinking into an 0-3 deficit against the Miami Heat.
The Hornets were a completely different team than the one that got smacked around for two games in Miami. Even factoring in Heat center Luol Deng‘s otherworldly performance, and Dwyane Wade‘s travel back to his “Flash” days, the Hornets had little to try and mount an effective campaign (ha ha) against the Heat.
Then, of course, this didn’t help matters:
The loss of guard Nicolas Batum to a foot injury in Game 2 seemed to spell a death knell for Charlotte. They were already tied with the 2003-04 Memphis Grizzlies for the most consecutive playoff losses (12) and without the playmaking and three-point prowess of Batum, the Hornets looked like they were going to be swept from the first round.
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Enter Walker.
Though the “campaign” for Most Improved Player votes fell short, Walker proved that he was the leader the team needed to make it through the playoffs.
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From the pregame shootaround and on throughout the game, Walker urged and encouraged fans and teammates alike to “get involved” and “be aggressive” (the former he shouted to fans, encouraging them to put on the complimentary “Enter the Swarm” T-shirts; the latter he yelled to backup point guard Jeremy Lin after an explosive play).
It worked. Charlotte started a bit slow and Deng continued with the hot hand, with Heat point guard Goran Dragic heating up as well. Then the Hornets pulled even. Then they led.
Then a collapse by the Heat in the third quarter opened the gate wide open for the Hornets to buzz through en route to a 96-80 victory that broke their 12-game playoff losing streak and was the first playoff win in 14 years for the franchise.
Walker was drafted in 2011 by the then-Charlotte Bobcats after completing his college degree in three years. The former University of Connecticut point guard was fresh off a national championship with the Huskies and was groomed to be the future of the Bobcats/Hornets franchise.
There have been times when Walker’s performance has garnered criticism and his leadership has lacked. Walker has been frustrated with himself and at the fact that he’s sat home after the regular season more often than not.
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The Hornets play Game 4 at home again on Tuesday, and hope to ride the momentum from Game 3 to another win to even the series. Once again, they will have to prove that they can #WinWithWalker. Fortunately for the team, they won’t have to try so hard.