To say who is the fastest improving player this season, it is estimated that fans quarrel for two days and two nights, and it is difficult to come up with a unified answer.
Is it Morant? Is it Garland? Is it Anfinny Simmons? Is it Miles Bridges? Or Dejuntai Murray?
But to say who's the player who has regressed the fastest this season, I'm sure everyone will say one name in unison, and that's Kemba Walker.
You know, 2 years ago, Walker was an All-Star starter, averaging 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, shooting 42.5% from the field and 38.1% from three-point range;
Even last season, Walker averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game, shooting 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range;
But this season, Walker averaged 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range;
Not to mention the serious decline, it was also hidden by the team 3 times, a month ago, Walker and the Knicks reached a non-play agreement and completely disappeared from the sight of the fans...
So the question is, what did Walker go through in just a few short months to be like this?
Because of injuries? Last season, Walker did miss nearly thirty games, but after returning from injury, he quickly found the state of the game, 21 points, 24 points, 32 points, 33 points, constantly refreshing the season scoring new highs, the last 7 games of the season, Walker scored 20+ in 6 games, of which 4 games scored 30+, and the shooting rate was all above 45%, so the reason for injury could not stand up, and it can also be seen from Walker's high-level data that he is still useful in his best field, but Thibodeau does not like to use, or say He needs to find a "substitute ghost" for the team's poor performance.
In the past few seasons, Walker has proved with performance that he is capable of taking on more balls, he has excellent blocking ability, shooting ability, and organizational ability, don't look at the 2 shooting rates have declined a lot, but the 53.7% true shooting rate is still higher than the Knicks' major players, look at Randall, only 51.1%, and RJ Barrett, but also 51.3%.
In terms of blocking offense, Walker scored 0.96 points per 100 possessions, ahead of 78.7% of the league's players. Among the 42 players in the league who average at least 6 rounds of blocking attacks per game, Walker's efficiency can be ranked 11th, similar to Conley, LaVine, Lillard, Trae Young, and the team is even higher;
The second is the fixed point shooting, the efficiency of 1.05 points per round, can also lead the league 63.9% of the players, in addition to Fournier's own block, the level is similar to Rose, Burks, can also play a role in opening up space;
Speaking of the organization, Walker's 22% assist rate can rank 3rd in the team, the assist rate is 22.7%, can rank 2nd, the assist-error ratio is 2.7, and it is also the 2nd highest in the team, on the whole, he is the Knicks' most stable and reliable ball carrier;
Finally, defensively, this is indeed Walker's weakness, the previous few seasons, he can rely on a lot of ball power on the offensive end, to make up for the lack of defense, but in the Knicks, Walker can not dominate the ball as before, the use rate is only 20.7%, a new career record, because everyone here, need to have the ball in hand, Randall needs, Barrett also wants, and Fournier, Rose, is the second-year rookie Quakeley, he also has more ball rights than Walker.
When the contribution of the offensive end is much lower than that of defense, Walker's "cancerous" attribute is gradually revealed, but to be honest, as the Knicks are now, casually bringing out a main force, the role is "negative", so let a new recruit with an annual salary of only 8 million to carry the pot, it is reasonable not to pay attention.
With Walker's current ability, he can fully qualify for the starting No. 1 position, the worst can also play a central role in the second lineup, or the sixth man, his offense is still quite threatening, remember the first time The Snow Was activated, Walker scored 29 points, 21 points, 44 points in 3 games, and got 10 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists in the third double-double in the fourth game, proving that he can still be trusted, during that time, Walker led the Knicks to a record of 6 wins and 2 losses, however, in a cheer, Walker, on the other hand, was imprisoned in the little black room by Thibodeau.
No trade, do not let the game, the Knicks directly killed a veteran's dream of fighting for the title, more miserable than Wei Shao, who has been criticized many times in the Lakers, it is worth mentioning that Walker's contract with the Knicks still has one year, I don't know how they will deal with the offseason, but no matter what deep hatred, it is better to get together and disperse.