The Kemba Walker Thread

[TheKingofSting]

The rest of the team sucks, crunk you would argue with a brick wall!

What i dont understand is that its okay to say anybody else on the team sucks, but the second you say it about Kemba its blasphemy

He is the best player we have according to PER oh wait...I forgot that is a useless stat when you use it to defend Kemba.

[SWedd523]

Lots of guys take last second shots. It's part game. No need to use that as an excuse.


And Silas has said multiple times that he lets Kemba call plays when he's in the game so that he can learn how to run an offense. He gives Kemba the freedom to decide what to do. No need to use that as an excuse either

[TheKingofSting]

A lot of that has to do with our total lack of an NBA offense and the worst (if we have one) playbook in all of basketball. Everyone's percentages are down. We can all agree that a good chunk of Kemba's misses are end of the shot clock shots. He has shown he can hit open 3's this season

Great post, I agree 1,000%!

[Battery]

Well I'm glad you agree that he did do a good job while he was here.


He really did.

He did. I won't ever dispute that. He was fantastic for what we wanted and did everything in his power to achieve that goal (reach the playoffs).

It just so happened that the quickest way to get there took some deals that hamstrung the franchise for the short-to-medium term future. It was time for him to leave when he did. I thank him for making us a respectable team for at least a year or so

I never blame a coach for trades because that is not his job title. Then why have a GM? Blame Higgins for those moves because the GM is supposed to do what is in the best interest both short term and long term for the franchise. The coach is supposed to coach the team he's been given. That's it.

And I was fine with him leaving when he did because S-Jerk and Nazr were starting to pull their schtick and poison the waters. It worked out good anyway because Silas was the perfect man to lead us into the toilet. I like Silas and think he is a good coach, just didn't have anything to work with. Not his fault. Love how he called out Tyrus and threatened his ass. Larry would never have done that, but it was something that needed to be said.

But this franchise should have been blown up four years ago instead of hiring Larry. Okafor and Ray were never going to lead this team anywhere. So many bad drafts have killed this franchise. We need Davis.

[SWedd523]

The rest of the team sucks, crunk you would argue with a brick wall!

What i dont understand is that its okay to say anybody else on the team sucks, but the second you say it about Kemba its blasphemy

He is the best player we have according to PER oh wait...I forgot that is a useless stat when you use it to defend Kemba.

1. The goal of PER is not to determine the best player.
2. PER is not designed as an all-encompassing stat. It's meant to be used in conjunction with others.


-Derrick Brown is the overwhelming leader on the team in Win Shares at 2.2 (nobody else is above 0.7). Is he our best player?
-Derrick Brown is the leader on the team in ORtg/DRtg at -2. Is he our best player?
-Derrick Brown is the leader on the team in True Shooting at 55.4%. Is he our best player?
-

[TheKingofSting]

He is the best player we have according to PER oh wait...I forgot that is a useless stat when you use it to defend Kemba.
1. The goal of PER is not to determine the best player.
2. PER is not designed as an all-encompassing stat. It's meant to be used in conjunction with others.


-Derrick Brown is the overwhelming leader on the team in Win Shares at 2.2 (nobody else is above 0.7). Is he our best player?
-Derrick Brown is the leader on the team in ORtg/DRtg at -2. Is he our best player?
-Derrick Brown is the leader on the team in True Shooting at 55.4%. Is he our best player?
-

The whole team sucks but someone has to be our best player. I'd say Hendo gets that distinction based off of the eye test.

[SWedd523]

I never blame a coach for trades because that is not his job title. Then why have a GM? Blame Higgins for those moves because the GM is supposed to do what is in the best interest both short term and long term for the franchise. The coach is supposed to coach the team he's been given. That's it.

You'd be naive to think LB wasn't in direct control of those personnel moves. Should Higgins have stepped in? Probably. But LB was given full control.

And I was fine with him leaving when he did because S-Jerk and Nazr were starting to pull their schtick and poison the waters. It worked out good anyway because Silas was the perfect man to lead us into the toilet. I like Silas and think he is a good coach, just didn't have anything to work with. Not his fault. Love how he called out Tyrus and threatened his ass. Larry would never have done that, but it was something that needed to be said.

LB was great for what we needed him to do--get us to the playoffs
Silas has been great for what we needed him to do--teach the young guys some things, serve as a mentor, and let them learn from their mistakes. It's pretty clear it's time for him to move on. He knows it and we know it. He's done his job.

But this franchise should have been blown up four years ago instead of hiring Larry. Okafor and Ray were never going to lead this team anywhere. So many bad drafts have killed this franchise. We need Davis.

Probably right on the rebuild, but they needed to establish themselves in the community and the league, so I can understand why they held out for as long as they did. If anything, we should be happy they blew it up so quickly instead of taking multiple years with a gradual decline like some teams do.

[captaincrunk]

No. Your circles are not fair. I wouldn't expect you to know how to ride a bike as a one year old.

Kemba wasn't exactly a one and done rookie. He's coming off a championship where he was an upperclassman leading his team. You have to expect more from him in terms of readiness than Kyrie, who didn't even play a full season. Instead, Kemba seems to be unable to do the thing he's supposed to be great at.

Until and unless he can score, it would require a complete change to his style of play for him to be even above average at this level. And at his height I don't have high hopes for him ever having > 9 APG. So he needs to score if he's going to justify Stun's/KembaWalker's obsession.

One thing about Kemba, he sure knows how to throw the ball in a motion towards the basket that is not to be confused with a pass.

Again, no. Difference between Kyrie and Kemba is that Kyrie could have come into the NBA from high school and look good at running an NBA team. Why? Because he is a pure point who understands how to use his teammates to make him and everyone else better. Kemba's style is completely different as he's been more of a one man show his entire basketball life. Basically a two playing the point. He needs to develop point guard skills and understand how to use his teammates better. This is going to take time and a lot of practice, something he wasn't afforded because of the lockout.

But this is exactly my point. The one thing he should be good at (being a scoring guard) he's not good at.

I'm not saying Kemba will ever "get it," but at least give the guy a chance to work with NBA coaches for a full summer and also get into NBA shape.

You mean like every other rookie? So none of these seasons count (unless you're Kyrie Irving of course).

When Kyrie got hurt last season all he could do was run on the treadmill so it helped build up his stamina. Also, he didn't get beat up last season and had a chance to rest his body while Kemba played a lot of ball and probably rested over the summer. Kyrie probably played a ton of ball during the lockout because he was more fresh and itching to get back onto the court.

Maybe, maybe. If you wanted to find this out you could just search it but I remember Kemba in an out of all kinds of facilities playing ball.

But they are both completely different players right now and to be effective in the NBA at the point, you need to involve your teammates. Kyrie understands this, Kemba does not. He will learn, but he needs practice. If he doesn't get it then he will be gone, but at least give the guy a chance to work on being an NBA point guard.

I'm not trying to say they're the same player. I'm just saying that we can't just ignore Kemba's play because he's a rookie. Even if we could, he's not 18 years old.

No matter how much he improves over the summer, my criticisms of this season will remain entirely valid. And this season, Kemba should not be starting. Kemba should not be shooting this much, or missing this much. Kemba shouldn't be foisted into a role you yourself don't think he can handle.

The rest of the team sucks, crunk you would argue with a brick wall!

What i dont understand is that its okay to say anybody else on the team sucks, but the second you say it about Kemba its blasphemy

He is the best player we have according to PER oh wait...I forgot that is a useless stat when you use it to defend Kemba.

PER is probably the most common thing used to backup BS arguments. Do you remember when Tyrus Thomas had the best PER of ANY bench player last year?

I'll say this another time (and probably loads more): Kemba has been very disappointing. The chances of him improving his shot are based entirely on circumstances we cannot know from our computers. Generally players increase percentages but people seem to agree that his footwork is atrocious. That's why he can hit circus shots with the same frequency as regular shots, he never takes a regular shot.

At the same time, he's had decent coaching all throughout his career. And he's not 12 years old anymore. It would be foolish to rest on our laurels, assume Kemba will pick up an all world shot and leave it at that. His recent passing has been a mild surprise but the eye test again is failing him in terms of distributing.

[DY_nasty]

I can't stand Kemba - mainly because his biggest issues (I don't even think his shooting is his main problem) are mental and the fact that he plays more timid than DJ ever did.

He is terrible. And he's just painful to watch most of the time. I'd love to blame his teammates, but he's the one handing it off to let Reggie Williams do whatever the hell he wants for 12 seconds.

I won't say that he can't get better though. I hope he does. But his problems aren't common amongst the typical rookie PG.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Why the hell are we upset at Kemba for not being as good as Kyrie? Maybe that would be justified if we got to choose between the two, but there's a reason Kyrie was the number one overall pick and we got Kemba at 9. Kyrie was NBA-ready from the time he stepped on the court at Duke, the fact that Kemba is older is irrelevant. Kyrie is the better player, period. But the fact that people are using that to attack Kemba is ridiculous.

Charlotte is too drunk on Cam Newton...not every rookie is gonna come in and break long-standing records. And yes, Kemba WILL benefit from having a full offseason, as will Biz, as will every other rookie. The fact that other rookies have had a better first season just shows that they were better prepared to play at this level; and it shouldn't be a slight against Kemba that he hasn't had a rookie of the year season playing on the worst team in history after missing out on an offseason due to the lockout. And realistically, what rookies have definitely been better than Kemba? Kyrie, Rubio, Faried, Kawhi, Klay? After that it's pretty much a crapshoot.

I also don't understand why people are being "too hard on Lil' Higs" for being a rookie, but we're supposed to be pissed at Kemba for not coming in and being an all-star. Oh, and didn't we want to suck this year? Or, why is Kemba a chucker that never looks to shoot because he averages 11 shots, while DJ is a pass-first PG because he averages a measly 10? And damn, Kemba's .370 FG% is so terrible, we should just shut him down completely and play DJ more, because he averages .374. Obviously DJ is the better player at this point, but the difference isn't that great and DJ has already abandoned this team. Either way, I don't know why we have fan-wars over two guys on the same team.

[fatlever]

battery is on fire in this thread and i find myself agreeing with him.

[fatlever]

The mods want to make something clear regarding all the Kemba bickering. Regardless of which side you fall on - Kemba is amazing, Kemba is trash or somewhere in the middle - everyone in this thread and other related threads needs to respect the other side's opinion. If the name calling, trolling and baiting continues we will start handing out warnings, later suspensions and unfortunately locking threads. We've let this go no long enough.

Keep the debates civil and respectful and everything will be fine.

Thanks

Fats, Slam and Sachmo

[captaincrunk]

Why the hell are we upset at Kemba for not being as good as Kyrie? Maybe that would be justified if we got to choose between the two, but there's a reason Kyrie was the number one overall pick and we got Kemba at 9. Kyrie was NBA-ready from the time he stepped on the court at Duke, the fact that Kemba is older is irrelevant. Kyrie is the better player, period. But the fact that people are using that to attack Kemba is ridiculous.

Charlotte is too drunk on Cam Newton...not every rookie is gonna come in and break long-standing records. And yes, Kemba WILL benefit from having a full offseason, as will Biz, as will every other rookie. The fact that other rookies have had a better first season just shows that they were better prepared to play at this level; and it shouldn't be a slight against Kemba that he hasn't had a rookie of the year season playing on the worst team in history after missing out on an offseason due to the lockout. And realistically, what rookies have definitely been better than Kemba? Kyrie, Rubio, Faried, Kawhi, Klay? After that it's pretty much a crapshoot.

I also don't understand why people are being "too hard on Lil' Higs" for being a rookie, but we're supposed to be pissed at Kemba for not coming in and being an all-star. Oh, and didn't we want to suck this year? Or, why is Kemba a chucker that never looks to shoot because he averages 11 shots, while DJ is a pass-first PG because he averages a measly 10? And damn, Kemba's .370 FG% is so terrible, we should just shut him down completely and play DJ more, because he averages .374. Obviously DJ is the better player at this point, but the difference isn't that great and DJ has already abandoned this team. Either way, I don't know why we have fan-wars over two guys on the same team.

I'm not asking for a rookie of the year season. I'm asking for a not-worst-shooting-rookie-of-the-year-season-from-the-best-scoring-point-in-the-draft-season.

[thruthefire]

Kemba: TS% of .468, Usg% of 25.2
DJA: TS% of .491, Usg% of 20.9

DJ's just a lot more aware of his poor shooting (which has been good and bad, in fairness).

[Liver_Pooty]

Kemba was drafted as a scorer with "swag". Pretty hard to score when you cant shoot, and his inability to distribute the ball is well documented. I still have high hopes for him especially when it comes to his shooting. He has a nice release, and arc, but his damn feet look perpendicular at times which just isn't normal for anyone even if you are a 13 year old. His quickness to get to the rim worked well in college, but against superior athletes in the NBA it doesn't. He can still get separation better than just about anyone, but i foresee him being a good bench player aka maybe a Jamal Crawford. Nothing wrong with that.

[Liver_Pooty]

Just re-read this entire thread about Walker being a top 5 rookie.

Funny stuff.

[TheKingofSting]

Just re-read this entire thread about Walker being a top 5 rookie.

Funny stuff.

He is, Irving, Thompson, Knight, hell even if you include Rubio. There is no one other than 3 of them that I would take over him.

[Diop]

battery is on fire in this thread and i find myself agreeing with him.

it says something when battery becomes the voice of reason.

Oh please when will this season end!

[Diop]

Just re-read this entire thread about Walker being a top 5 rookie.

Funny stuff.

He is, Irving, Thompson, Knight, hell even if you include Rubio. There is no one other than 3 of them that I would take over him.

If we're only talking about who we would take for the future than yeah Kemba would probably still be in my top 5.

But just going on top 5 seasons for rookies, I would place Brooks and Klay's above Kemba's.

I'm not a big Brooks fan and still think Kemba will be the better player, but he had a decent year.

[TheKingofSting]

Oh please when will this season end!

Only 1 more night, unfortunately it's on National tv.