Should Kemba Walker be the NY Knicks’ closing Point Guard?
It comes as no surprise to anyone, Kemba Walker will be the primary ballhandler and Point Guard for the Knicks in the 4th quarter of games.
They don’t call him Cardiac Kemba for nothing.
March 10, 2011: Kemba Walker crosses up Pitt’s Center & hits a step-back jumper at the buzzer to give UConn a Big East Tourney QF win. pic.twitter.com/iwFtk3AmPf
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) March 10, 2021
Plus, we already know Kemba likes to show out late in games at The Garden, so he’s a lock for that reason alone.
When looking at Kemba’s final season in Charlotte, the last year he was tasked with being his team’s #1 option especially in the 4th quarter, he was a man amongst boys during crunch time.
As per NBA.com/stats, Kemba was lights out in the 4th quarter of games, shooting 47% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc.
Mind you, he’s only a 36% shooter from deep for his career so he’s there’s a substantial uptick
in his production late in games.
When closing out a win, teams need guys who can create for themselves as well as others because you just don’t know who the defense will be keying in on.
The problem the Knicks had last season was that there was truly only one guy the defense had to worry about (Julius Randle, duh) during crunch time, and that showed especially during the playoffs when it feels like the entire game is basically ‘crunch time’.
This season, the tables have turned drastically and now it’ll be difficult for teams to know who’s getting the ball when the team desperately needs a bucket.
Kemba has proven hundreds of times that he can be called upon in tough situations, so that’s why we’ll likely see him manning the point during closeouts.