25 games in, are we pleased with Kemba Walker? Thoughts?

[fairweatherfan]

Absolutely! Like no drama Kyrie who goes into contact instead of away from it. Some great IT flashbacks from those quick release leaning forward 3s off the screens too.

Kemba seems even more effortless in how he scores than those guys, somehow. 

Sometimes he dances and bounces around with the ball and gets himself open for a shot so fluidly it seems like he practiced that exact sequence of steps and hops a thousand times.  It's like the defender isn't even there.

He can play that way but it seems like he has more hiccups and awkward plays like leaping at contact, not getting a call and whiffing the layup. Also seems a bit easier to strip or disrupt his dribble than Kyrie (but who isn't?) But when he's on he's an absolute flamethrower.

[keevsnick]

Really he's been great, competes more defensively that I expected and can flat out shoot off the dribble.

If I had to nitpick... he misses kick outs off the drive a little more than I would like, I wish he was like a 10% better playmaker for others.

But really given how much he seems to have improved the locker room chemistry its hard to complain.

[PhoSita]

Absolutely! Like no drama Kyrie who goes into contact instead of away from it. Some great IT flashbacks from those quick release leaning forward 3s off the screens too.

Kemba seems even more effortless in how he scores than those guys, somehow. 

Sometimes he dances and bounces around with the ball and gets himself open for a shot so fluidly it seems like he practiced that exact sequence of steps and hops a thousand times.  It's like the defender isn't even there.

He can play that way but it seems like he has more hiccups and awkward plays like leaping at contact, not getting a call and whiffing the layup. Also seems a bit easier to strip or disrupt his dribble than Kyrie (but who isn't?) But when he's on he's an absolute flamethrower.

Kyrie is more of an improviser and ball handling wizard.  Kyrie is the Platonic Ideal not deciding exactly what you're going to do with the ball until the instant before you do it. 

Kemba seems to know exactly where he wants to get to and he can dance and hop his way there faster and more fluidly than almost any defender can react to.

I agree that Kyrie is a better / more creative finisher, but of course -- Kyrie doesn't actually go inside that often.  He definitely doesn't get to the line as much as Kemba does.


I remember watching Kemba in Charlotte a few years back and thinking he might be the hardest guy in the league to stop getting a shot off, provided that the shot was somewhere between the three point line and the paint.  I still think that, but now Kemba has gotten way better and generating pull up three pointers.

[Monkhouse]

Absolutely! Like no drama Kyrie who goes into contact instead of away from it. Some great IT flashbacks from those quick release leaning forward 3s off the screens too.

Kemba seems even more effortless in how he scores than those guys, somehow. 

Sometimes he dances and bounces around with the ball and gets himself open for a shot so fluidly it seems like he practiced that exact sequence of steps and hops a thousand times.  It's like the defender isn't even there.

He can play that way but it seems like he has more hiccups and awkward plays like leaping at contact, not getting a call and whiffing the layup. Also seems a bit easier to strip or disrupt his dribble than Kyrie (but who isn't?) But when he's on he's an absolute flamethrower.

Kyrie is more of an improviser and ball handling wizard.  Kyrie is the Platonic Ideal not deciding exactly what you're going to do with the ball until the instant before you do it. 

Kemba seems to know exactly where he wants to get to and he can dance and hop his way there faster and more fluidly than almost any defender can react to.

I agree that Kyrie is a better / more creative finisher, but of course -- Kyrie doesn't actually go inside that often.  He definitely doesn't get to the line as much as Kemba does.


I remember watching Kemba in Charlotte a few years back and thinking he might be the hardest guy in the league to stop getting a shot off, provided that the shot was somewhere between the three point line and the paint. I still think that, but now Kemba has gotten way better and generating pull up three pointers.

Which makes him even harder to guard. 

Any time I see him coming off a screen and he pulls up from 3, I'm almost certain it's going in most of the time.

[celticsclay]

HOW COULD WE NOT BE THRILLED

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?!?!?!?

Time of my life! If we had signed Dwight off the scrapheap we would have won it all!

[Neurotic Guy]

Ecstatic

[seancally]

Agree with all the positive reviews here.

My two favorite things:

Leadership, which I knew about, as a UConn fan. As advertised - better, actually.

Also? Kemba is a north-south player. Yes, he can dance with the ball, nail a step-back, etc. But he’ll get to the line and attack the basket. Kyrie danced a lot more and avoided contact. Too lazy to find the numbers now but my feeling is that Kemba gets to the line a lot more and that’s an important skill to have.

[slamtheking]

very pleased.  seems to be a whole new attitude in the clubhouse of team-first and comraderie we didn't have last year.  Especially like Kemba's projected attitude of winning comes before any personal accomplishments or prima donna attitudes.

[Monkhouse]

Agree with all the positive reviews here.

My two favorite things:

Leadership, which I knew about, as a UConn fan. As advertised - better, actually.

Also? Kemba is a north-south player. Yes, he can dance with the ball, nail a step-back, etc. But he’ll get to the line and attack the basket. Kyrie danced a lot more and avoided contact. Too lazy to find the numbers now but my feeling is that Kemba gets to the line a lot more and that’s an important skill to have.

To be fair, as much as we hate on Irving's inability to go inside and avoid contact. The two of them have been pretty even.

Irving has 4.4 FTA in his career versus 5.0 against Kemba's.

But I will say leadership, being a positive influence, and just overall enjoying the game of basketball is what I sincerely love about Kemba.

He's generally the smallest guy, but he has the biggest heart, and that's something most people cannot say.

[Monkhouse]

Hindsight in 20/20, the Mavericks would've really benefited from having someone like Walker on their team. I remember they had a lot of interest, but Walker's thought process was that he was unsure of whether or not that team could contend.

A big 3 of KP, Luka, and Walker? My oh my lol.

[Atzar]

Better defensively than I expected.  He’s competitive on that end.

Offensively, he’s streakier than I thought he’d be, but overall very good.  Lethal shooter.  I think he’s still learning how to play with other talented players.  I can do without the Kemba Time possessions, when he spends twenty seconds dribbling before hoisting a late-clock shot.  I think Kemba, Brown, and Tatum could do a much better job of playing team ball and making each other better. 

[ozgod]

Pleased with him so far. He's fit in well and hasn't inhibited any of the players he's played with.

[moiso]

Absolutely! Like no drama Kyrie who goes into contact instead of away from it. Some great IT flashbacks from those quick release leaning forward 3s off the screens too.

Kemba seems even more effortless in how he scores than those guys, somehow. 

Sometimes he dances and bounces around with the ball and gets himself open for a shot so fluidly it seems like he practiced that exact sequence of steps and hops a thousand times.  It's like the defender isn't even there.

He can play that way but it seems like he has more hiccups and awkward plays like leaping at contact, not getting a call and whiffing the layup. Also seems a bit easier to strip or disrupt his dribble than Kyrie (but who isn't?) But when he's on he's an absolute flamethrower.

Kyrie is more of an improviser and ball handling wizard.  Kyrie is the Platonic Ideal not deciding exactly what you're going to do with the ball until the instant before you do it. 

Kemba seems to know exactly where he wants to get to and he can dance and hop his way there faster and more fluidly than almost any defender can react to.

I agree that Kyrie is a better / more creative finisher, but of course -- Kyrie doesn't actually go inside that often.  He definitely doesn't get to the line as much as Kemba does.


I remember watching Kemba in Charlotte a few years back and thinking he might be the hardest guy in the league to stop getting a shot off, provided that the shot was somewhere between the three point line and the paint.  I still think that, but now Kemba has gotten way better and generating pull up three pointers.

I think a lot of times Kyrie made up his mind far too early that he was going to get a shot up one way or another.  Plenty of times I knew he'd be jacking a shot up way before he even crossed the halfcourt line.  He wouldn't know what kind of shot it would be until the last moment but he certainly knew that he was going to be shooting.  It seems like Kemba is far more likely to try to get the most efficient shot for the team that the defense is allowing.  And the time he spends dribbling and going nowhere is far lower.  I'm thrilled with Walker.  He's not as talented as Irving but I think he is a better 5 on 5 basketball player.

[gpap]

Couldn't be happier.

[Csfan1984]

I'm not pleased yet Im not disappointed either. I already felt this was the player we were going to get. He hasn't outplayed what I thought he would be and he hasn't underplayed.