Post#302 » by Hornet Mania » Wed Jan 24, 2018 5:21 pm
I'd consider Kemba the equal of Lillard, they're similar enough statistically but they each hold an edge over the other in different categories.
Lillard is obviously the superior outside shooter with the ability to torch teams, Kemba is a great shooter (these last couple years) but not quite on that level.
The area where Kemba really excels is avoiding turnovers. Lillard is no turnover machine himself, but Kemba is absolutely elite in terms of the time he spends handling the ball vs how little he turns it over. I'll have to dig for the article but I read a piece a year ago that analyzed game tape of PG turnovers (which ones were their fault, which ones were teammates, which ones were liveball turnovers, etc) and the author who was not a Hornet's fan by any means reported with some surprise that CP3 was the best PG in the NBA as judged by protecting the rock...followed very closely by Kemba Walker. In terms of raw stats Lillard's Assist/Turnover ratio is a respectable (for a score-first guard like he and Kemba) 2:1 over the last few years, but Kemba has been closer to 3:1. He is the main reason, with a bullet, why our team had been great at avoiding turnovers during the Clifford era. In a comparison this close it's worth considering if you want a defense-first strategy that views turnovers with absolute dread then you can't do much better than Kemba as your floor general.
