Just under a month ago, Kemba Walker’s honeymoon return to New York appeared all but over.
While his entire team was struggling in just about every component of the game after their hot start to the season, Walker’s deficiencies were put under the Garden spotlight. His offensive numbers hit record lows of 11.7 points and 3.1 assists and his “cardiac shooting was down to a dismal 39% from the field. Defensively, his 6-foot-1 stature gave him problems in the Knicks’ defensive system valuing one-on-one matchups and getting over the screens of taller players.
Twenty brief games into his latest stint, Walker was displaced from the Knicks’ rotation and forced to watch the team’s “struggle bus” stretch unfurl from the bench. Once the December 15th opening of the trade market for offseason signees neared, the point guard seemed destined to be sent to another market as the Knicks’ issues at that position continued.
Walker had no such plans in mind, and neither did the latest surge of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the NBA. He refused to sit idle and sulk on the far end of the Knicks bench until his name was called again by head coach Tom Thibodeau or he was moved. The UConn prodigy went back to his roots, serving as a leader and supportive teammate for the young guys in the rotation while working on his pull-up shooting that made him famous at every stop in his career.
“I’m here for my teammates,” Walker said, finally opening up to the media about his demotion. “I’m here to help these guys as much as possible. I could be pissed. I could be upset. But at the end of the day, there are some young guys here who look up to me. Pretty sure they wanted to see how I reacted to this situation.”
“It was tough, obviously, because I’m a competitor. I love to play basketball. I love to be on the court, and this is the first time it’s happened in my career pretty much on any level. But at the end of the day, I’m a pro.”
The 32-year-old’s patience, consistent effort and encouragement inspired the entire locker room and were a testament to his insatiable desire to play for his hometown team. Yet, little did anyone know that the unprecedented moment in his career would spark a new Kemba and open the door for an incredible return when Walker’s name was unexpectedly called back to action.
Called a “pro’s pro” by Thibodeau, Walker entered Madison Square Garden on December 23rd as the starting point guard and gave the Knicks a strong reminder of the everlasting grandeur of his athleticism with an unforgettable performance on the court he once gazed upon as a youth spectator.
In his third game back in the Knicks rotation since COVID-19 protocols pushed Thibodeau’s hand, Walker turned the clock back to the 2011 Big East Tournament, lighting up the Garden with a season-high 44 points along with nine rebounds and eight assists against the Wizards.
The court as his canvas, the 10-year-veteran painted the arena with 14/27 shooting including seven three pointers to put the finishing touch on a statement outing that called into question Thibodeau’s handling of the rotation.
“It was a good time. I really wish we could’ve won, to be honest,” said Walker after the team’s 124-117 loss. “It’s always tough when you play really well like that and don’t come out on top. It was definitely a very special night”
A very special night indeed, one that weeks before felt like it would be a fever dream. At best, one that Walker would’ve had in another team’s uniform.
Walker was removed from the Knicks’ rotation completely on November 29th, as the team slid from a 5-1 start to the season to an 11-10 record towards the bottom of the East at the end of the month. Defensive issues were seemingly the reasoning behind the move, but Thibodeau said it was solely a decision to do “what is best for the team”, particularly with certain lineup scenarios at the guard position.
Walker spent the next ten games and twenty days compiling DNP’s on the team’s official game reports. While he may not have been getting out of his warm up suit at all, the Bronxite remained active in the flow of the game by mentoring and enthusiastically cheering his teammates.
“That’s what he’s supposed to do,” said Thibodeau of Walker’s attitude. “He’s a pro, great character.”
“For him to be able to be in a situation like this, and still come in and encourage me and show me things, is a credit to his character,” Knicks second-year guard Immanuel Quickley added. “He’s a great teammate and we’re lucky to have him on this team.”
All Walker wanted to do during this new obstacle in his career was stay ready for whenever Thibodeau looked down the bench for him to play. He just knew his homecoming to New York wasn’t over, and on December 18th it was his time to show everyone he was here to stay.
With an increasingly large number of cases of COVID-19 impacting NBA rosters, the Knicks were no less affected. The organization had several players shut down by health and safety protocols, including relief guards Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes. Veteran guard Derrick Rose spent some time on the protocols but had also been dealing with ankle issues sidelining him from action.
Thus, with his rotation heading towards having to sign “hardship exemption” contracts, Thibodeau made the move everyone was waiting to see if he would. The two-time Coach of the Year with the Chicago Bulls reinserted Walker into the starting lineup for the team’s road game against the Boston Celtics, a no more perfect time for Walker as his team entered familiar territory.
Walking back into TD Garden to face his former team, Walker kickstarted a phenomenal stretch of games that would culminate in his season-high performance against Washington. Playing with the Celtics for two seasons, Walker felt reinvigorated by the warm reception received by the Boston faithful and proceeded to drop 29 points in 37 minutes on 8/20 shooting, including 5/11 shooting from the three-point line. The latter shooting was the best among the Knicks’ starting five, followed only by fellow former Celtic Evan Fournier who shot 4/10 from deep and scored a team-high 32 points.
There must be something about both Walker and Fournier playing against the Celtics that ignites their best level of basketball in a Knicks uniform. In the team’s previous game against Boston, the season opener at the Garden, the two guards combined for 42 points and went 9/17 from three in a thrilling 2OT victory.
Following that game, the Knicks went back home to Madison Square Garden, where despite being their home arena they’ve struggled to close out teams and win. Walker’s veteran experience as a shooter came to his advantage once again against a young and struggling Detroit Pistons team, with the guard putting up 21 points along with 8 rebounds and five assists.
With the second straight game of 20+ points coming after his career-low averages earlier in the season proving perhaps Walker’s potential in New York wasn’t a fluke, Tom Thibodeau began to hear the question again that’s been asked of him since the removal of his veteran leader.
“I have to base it on what the players are doing right now. Whoever gives us the best chance to win, you’re going to be in there,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks’ 105-91 win over Detroit that snapped their home losing streak.
If Thibodeau needed more convincing that he may need to keep Walker in the rotation permanently to sustain the team defensively, he certainly got that against Washington with the best 36 minutes of the Rice High School alum’s career. The Knicks ultimately lost the game due to hot shooting by the Wizards late, but Walker’s heroics kept them going all night long.
His most noticeable feat other than the points attached to his name–the positive plus-minus differential. Walker finished with a +4 differential when on the court, the best of any Knicks player that saw minutes. The same Kemba that a month earlier had a career worst defensive rating of -116.3 and a plus-minus ratio of -89, the eleventh-worst in the NBA. The same Kemba that struggled to get over the screens and allowed a -13.3 average net rating when on the floor compared to +11.2 when off.
The same Kemba Walker that saw his three-point shooting plummet to its worst 29%. That Kemba Walker was now lighting up the Garden once again and receiving a serenation from the Garden faithful that always believed in him from the moment he walked through the door.
Taking two of those three games since Walker’s return to the rotation, the Knicks now have a bit of life in them after they’ve looked like a complete inconsistent, identity-less team. A team of their caliber does not belong in the bottom rung of the Eastern Conference, and they are going to need much better results from everyone other than just Walker to steer the ship and climb back up a transient conference standings.
Whether Thibodeau is willing to commit to Walker long-term, his choices may be limited moving forward. First, the team is continuing to deal with the effects of the rise in COVID-19 cases and players are constantly shifting in and out of the rotation. The Knicks have already had to sign two hardship 10-day contracts in Damyean Dotson, Matt Mooney and Daniel House Jr. to hold down the fort while others like Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett have had to battle back from the health and safety protocols and regain their conditioning levels.
Also, there’s the incredible loss of guard Derrick Rose to an ankle injury. On December 22nd, it was reported that Rose underwent right ankle surgery to deal with a lingering issue he’s had with that area. As a result of the surgery, the Knicks are expected to lose the guard for at least eight weeks, meaning they will need a new body to replace the 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 four assists in an average of 24.5 minutes by Rose this season.
Whomever the Knicks rally around in their upcoming stretch of the season heading towards the February All-Star break, they need to imitate the performances of Walker that has been an embodiment of the team we saw in the first few weeks of October and early November. The hardnose defensive culture of Thibodeau and New York city basketball needs to be revived. Streaky players need to find consistency in the offense to enable the Knicks to lead comfortably for an entire 48 minutes rather than seeing the same movie play out of losing leads in the fourth quarter.
“It has been pretty disappointing especially to our fans,’ Walker said after his 44-point outing that still ended in a home loss. “These guys have been cheering their behinds off for us trying to get us going.”
The one thing we learned from last year’s Knicks team is the season is long. It’s one week and one game at a time, and that’s the focus the team must have as they try to improve on every facet of their game and match the 41-win season effort that propelled them to the playoffs last season.
Most importantly, the Knicks need their leaders. Many say Julius Randle is the leader of the locker room, but if the Knicks need an extra believer to motivate and push them towards tougher, efficient basketball then Kemba Walker is ready to step in and help them see what they are capable of and be in the corner of anybody that needs his mentorship.
It’s time the Knicks let him bring back not only Cardiac Kemba performances to Madison Square Garden, but homegrown, New York style basketball as well.
Obi Toppin sure agrees.
“We’re definitely going to get [energy] soon, real soon. It’s just going to hit us one day and we’re going to get on top of our game and start winning a lot more games now”
