In the magical land of New York, there will always be some inexplicable things, such as today's Knicks at home 117-124 against the Wizards. Losing is not a big deal for the Knicks this season, they are no longer their own last season, but it is a big deal to be bombarded by coach DNP's Kemba Walker, who has been bombarded with 44 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Needless to say, Thibodeau's punch in the face also seems to be a microcosm of Walker's career: he's good, but he's always not good enough.
According to Knicks state media, after this game, even Thibodeau had to give Walker a thumbs up. "Kemba played beastly, but we lost and wasted his efforts, which is a shame," Thibodeau said, "and when there is a shortage of manpower, we can't afford to show the slightest lack of effort." ”
In fact, Thibodeau's so-called "performance of lack of effort" is said to Fournier, who has performed dismally this season, to Randall, who has declined this season, and also to Walker at the beginning of the season. Before being played by the DNP, Walker averaged only 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals in the first 18 games of the season, shooting 41.3% from three-point range but only 42.9% overall.
The Knicks had high hopes for Walker, extending an olive branch immediately after he was sent to the Thunder, and Walker was excited to get a call-up from his hometown team. He gazed fondly at the MSG Knicks logo, like Marbury who had been mosing the Knicks jersey over and over again. Coincidentally, both "sons of New York" were later abandoned by the Big Apple.
Last season, the Knicks were no. 3 in the league in defensive efficiency and only 23rd in offensive efficiency, which became the key to their first playoff in eight years and then stopped in the first round. When MSG sounded the call for "Fark blowing Yang", New York fans were probably also thinking about how good it would be if Trae Young were on our side.
As a result, the Knicks found Walker, who seemed to be able to compete with Yang Yi, and also brought Fournier, which greatly increased the offensive firepower of the backcourt and was seen as the right medicine. But they misestimated the power of walker and fournier. So far this season, the Knicks' offensive efficiency has only improved to 17th, but its defensive efficiency has plummeted to 23rd. Needless to say, the demanding New York fans put the account on Walker's head again.
Thibodeau also showed for the first time since coming to New York that he was powerless over dressing room issues. It is reported that Walker's ball-holding style of play has triggered the dissatisfaction of Randall, who is also accustomed to holding a lot of balls, and Walker has been DNP related to this. However, the Knicks only won 3 and lost 7 during Walker's DNP, leaving Randall completely exposed to the media and fans.
Seeing the hard work of building the team but returning to the liberation overnight, the Knicks top brass also had words of suffering. Randle was named an All-Star last season and was also coached by Thibodeau as an organizational forward, and even if the playoffs were beaten back to their original form, the Knicks seniors thought that giving him a four-year, 117 million fat contract should not be too much. Unexpectedly, the Knicks, who had been cautious in spending money in previous years, were once again trapped, and the former "poison contract" of Alain Houston and Marbury suddenly appeared in front of him.
The Knicks want Randall to play well worth the money. Even if it is not good, the good villain must have transaction value. However, looking at the previous market situation of Wall and Porzingis, the Knicks executives understand that Randall is not much better. The Knicks can't take the top 2 annual salaries (Randall, Fournier) in the team, and can only take Walker, who is new to the team, has a good temperament, and his annual salary is not much higher than that of Barrett, who is carrying a rookie contract.
If it weren't for the Knicks' downsizing due to the pandemic and injuries, they wouldn't have thought of reactivating Walker. In this regard, the Knicks have "the same disease" as the city's sworn enemy nets, who have also been forced to bow to Irving recently. But after this game, a statistic also made the Knicks executives frown. According to statistics, counting the 40+ games in Walker's career, his team only won 5 wins and 14 losses, and the 26.3% win rate left Beal (8 wins and 22 losses, 26.7%), the worst among the players who scored 40+ in at least 10 games in his career. Looking at Walker's previous performance when the Hornets (Bobcats) led the team alone, whether to trust the team in his hands, the Knicks executives are also playing drums in their hearts.
When it comes to what grade walker is, there was a claim that was considered appropriate: he was the lower limit of the NBA's All-Star judging criteria, or should be called an "All-Star goalkeeper." At the NCAA, Walker swept the United States with the University of Connecticut, won the NCAA championship, and was elected MOP. But when he first entered the NBA, his height made Walker suffer a loss, and as a result, he fell into the hands of the Bobcats, who had a "bad track" in training high-ranking point guards.
As a result, the first four seasons of Walker's career really had a tough one. His season average of around 17 points per game has stagnated, and his overall shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage have "fallen endlessly." It wasn't until the 2015-16 season that Walker made a comeback. His average of points per game crossed the 20-point mark, and his shooting percentage also stopped falling back to normal levels, and he made the playoffs. During the season, Walker increased his share of three-point shots, jumping from less than 30 percent to 36.8 percent, and then gradually climbing to a level of 40 to 50 percent. At the same time, Walker also increased the proportion of shots under the basket, reduced the number of long-range two-point shots, and the playing style became increasingly "magic ball".
However, at a time when the outside world is gradually changing for Walker, when it is recognized that Walker is the wisest choice since Jordan joined Charlotte (and now it may have to give way to three goals), after Walker climbed to the Top Scorer in the history of the Hornets (Bobcats), Jordan was still reluctant to put the future of the team in his hands, so there was the 2019 offseason deal.
After arriving in Boston, Walker and the Celtics had a brief honeymoon. During this time, Walker's humility and low-key easy-going seemed to breathe a breath of fresh air into the Green Army, which had been messed up by Owen. In the first 2 rounds of the playoffs, 76ers and Raptors, Walker's wind evaluation is basically positive. Boston fans also relished his frequent high singles, leaving Embiid in a dilemma. However, the Eastern Decisive Green Army was defeated by the Heat, and Walker was repeatedly "named" by the other side due to poor defense, which made his wind evaluation turn in an instant.
Injuries also come to the door at an inopportune time. Because of his left knee injury, Walker missed the first 11 games of the 2020-21 season, and Angie, who has always been a "cutter", came alive again and advised Walker not to undergo knee surgery in the offseason. The industry is busy taking the example of Thomas Jr., urging Walker not to fall for the old fox.
Everything that followed after that happened yesterday. After Stevens replaced Angie as president of the Green Army, the first deal was to send Walker to the Thunder and return to Horford, completely correcting the mistakes of his predecessor. And Walker and Knicks' bad relationship was also doomed the moment he first arrived in Russia.
Speaking of Walker and the Knicks, the industry has long anticipated that the Knicks will have a problem, especially when they failed to keep Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton in the offseason, Noel stopped and stopped, and the introduction of Walker and Fournier defenses was difficult to count on. In addition, Randle's defensive efforts this season are not as good as in the past. Coupled with the fact that Walker and Randle's two ball-holding players are difficult to echo in the blocking, the Knicks have fallen into such a situation, it seems that it is not difficult to understand.
Walker is such a complex player. He is not a first-class superstar, but he has a rich experience that some first-tier superstars have not had; his style of play is gorgeous, his ability is recognized, but he does not reach the height of the team leader; he is pinned high hopes on every team, but eventually he is said to break up by the team's top brass. He is not the brightest star in the night sky, he just wants to guard his acre and three points of land, not to fight with people, not with fate.
Highlights of this highlight:
(Supine Braces/Hairy)