Charlotte Hornets: 2017-18 player grades for Kemba Walker

Weaknesses

There were some holes in Walker’s offensive game, however. He was an efficient 3-point shooter everywhere except the right corner, where he shot a measly 31 percent (league average is 40.4). Walker did shoot 41 percent from the other corner, so I would chalk the low right corner number to bad luck (he also shot 39 percent on above-the-break 3s).

His finishing around the rim, or lack thereof, was more problematic. Walker made only 54 percent of his shots from inside the restricted area (league average is 63.1 percent).

For comparison, Stephen Curry, who’s slightly bigger than Walker but plays the same position, made 64.9 percent of his baskets from the same spot. For a player of Walker’s size, finishing among the trees will always be a tall task, but in order for him to take the next step toward superstardom, he must improve this aspect of his game.

Defending was another concern for Walker, although he wasn’t terrible. In fact, some metrics like defensive win shares viewed him favorably. Others did not. No Hornet that logged at least 1,500 minutes had a higher defensive rating than Walker. He also finished with a negative defensive box plus/minus for the second consecutive season. He doesn’t swipe a lot of steals either (1.1 per game). Walker’s size precludes him from having a great impact on the defensive end, especially when he switches onto bigger players. This will always be an issue for Walker.