The New York Knicks are off to a 3-1 start in the 2021-22 NBA season and fans are excited about what is to come. Tom Thibodeau has the team playing well on both ends of the court as he is mixing and matching his old-school, defensive style of basketball with a new-age, up-tempo attack predicated on a ton of 3-point shots.
One of the reasons for the new-found attack is the addition of Kemba Walker. It is a homecoming for the Bronx native, who went to high school in Harlem at Rice and attended Connecticut for college.
He loves playing for his hometown team and the fans love him just as much. His presence is as big as any on the team when you look at who the franchise has had to go through as the starting point guard for the last 10-15 years.
Some of the names on the list include Elfrid Payton, Ramon Sessions, Allonzo Trier, Pablo Prigioni, Toney Douglas, Jarrett Jack, and Jose Calderon. Even with the knee injuries in recent seasons seemingly sapping some of his explosiveness, Walker is a huge upgrade for this current Knicks team.
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He isn’t breaking down defenses and getting into the paint with the same gusto, at least not yet, but just having him on a court is a big improvement for the offense. He is a threat whenever he has the ball in his hands whether it is to set up things for a teammate or score himself.
In the Knicks’ most recent game against the Philadelphia 76ers, a convincing 112-99 victory, Walker had his best game in the orange and blue. He knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a 19-point performance to lead the team. He chipped in three rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block to go along with only one turnover in 28 minutes of play.
For the season, Walker is shooting 52 percent from the 3-point line, knocking down 13-of-25. While that is likely an unsustainable percentage to shoot, he has nearly matched Payton’s 3-point output from the entire 2019-20 season and is almost halfway to his total from last season when he knocked down 28.
There is a legitimate chance that in the first month of wearing a Knicks uniform, Walker will have connected on more 3-point attempts than Payton did in two seasons. Let that sink in for a moment.
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The improvement at the point guard position this season with Walker combined with veteran Derrick Rose is exactly what the Knicks needed. While it is still early, they look like they are going to be a handful for opponents to deal with on a nightly basis.
Last season, the New York Knicks surprised a ton of people when they finished 41-31 and earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are not surprising anyone this season, as they are looking like a bonafide playoff contender and Kemba Walker is a key piece in cementing the Knicks as such.
