The New York Knicks recently opted to outright bench former NBA All-Star Kemba Walker altogether from their rotation after a rocky start to the 2021-22 season. Since then, the team has been put in a position to need Walker’s services once again—returning him to the team’s starting lineup.
Walker’s last performance before being removed from the rotation involved a 17-point outing against the Phoenix Suns where he went 5-of-11 (45.5%) from the floor and 3-of-6 (50.0%) from beyond the arc with just two turnovers.
Since returning to the lineup, Walker has averaged a staggering 26.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in four appearances. He is taking over half of his 20.0 field goal attempts per game from beyond the arc and is converting at a 39.5% clip on those takes.
Walker’s first game back in the fold was against his former team, the Boston Celtics. He finished the night with 29 points, six rebounds, and three assists. His most notable outing came against the Washington Wizards in what was a 44-point outing with nine rebounds and eight assists.
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Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau attributes Walker’s improved play after being benched to a change in mindset. Walker agreed with the sentiment and went on to explain how he’s reverted to being more aggressive—something he avoided doing prior in order to ‘not want to step on toes.’
“I have,” Walker told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “That’s the exact mindset I’ve had. Just come out and be aggressive. I just have a tendency to kind of not want to step on toes and I think that’s what I did early on. I was here and I wasn’t being as aggressive. But I think being out and seeing how the game has been going and flowing put me in a different mindset.”
While Kemba Walker has put together some explosive scoring performances as of late, it was his passing that made all the difference on Christmas Day in the Knicks’ win over the Atlanta Hawks. He went just 3-of-12 (25.0%) from the floor and 2-of-9 (22.2%) from deep but posted a triple-double with 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
“The game tells you what to do,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what I loved about the way he played. I didn’t think he forced anything. They put size on him, they were aggressive with their pick-and-roll coverage against him, and he didn’t fight it.
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“I thought his passing was terrific. Sometimes it’s going to be his shooting. Sometimes it’s going to be his penetration and getting into the paint. Sometimes, if they’re being aggressive with their traps, get rid of the ball quickly and then everyone keeps moving.”
With the level of play that Kemba Walker has provided the New York Knicks as of late, it appears he has re-emerged as a key part of the team going forward.
