The Kemba Crusade #5- Just The Beginning

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On the 4th edition of “The Kemba Crusade” I was very excited about the Charlotte Bobcats first playoff series in 4 years and heavily embraced the “Shock The World” mantra. Of course though like much of the Bobcats history disaster struck and Al Jefferson suffered plantar ficiitis in the early stages of game 1 and it changed the whole complexion of how the Bobcats had to play offensively. The Bobcats were swept in 4 games by the back to back champion Miami Heat but make no mistake about it Kemba Walker was not the problem here. The Bobcats lack of scoring at shooting guard and small forward this series combined with Al Jefferson limited health cost them mightily. They competed at a high level in stretches but in the end the Heat were just way to much for Kemba and the Cats.

Like my fellow Tru School Sports counterpart The Informer Stated in day #10 of his “50 blogs in 50 nights” series, the Bobcats had to pay their playoff dues. The Bobcats were heavily inexperienced versus a much more talented Miami team and it hurt them in this series but will do nothing but wonders not only for the team but Kemba as an individual. The Bronx native has improved his rebounds, assists, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage every year since his rookie season. This indicates that Kemba will improve even more next year due to the fact that he has done it every year of his pro career. Not to mention the fact that the Bobcats have the worst combination of scoring at shooting guard and small forward in Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Those guys average a combined 21.2 points per game and lack a consistent jumper on the perimeter which hurts the floor spacing of the offense and puts pressure on Kemba to get creative in the offense. If the Bobcats can add a consistent wing scorer this off-season it would change the way teams have to game plan for the Bobcats.

Kemba statistically had a nice series though, he averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6 assists,shot 47% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line. He produced but his turnovers were much higher in the playoffs compared to the regular season at 3.8 turnovers per game. The Heat do a great job blitzing in pick and roll situations which is what allowed them to neutralize Kemba in key situations throughout most of the series. It wasn’t until game 4 that Kemba figured it out and began playing like himself throughout the course of an entire game.

People are going to look at game 4 of the series and say the Heat dominated in their 109-98 series deciding win over the Bobcats, well that wasn’t exactly the case. Charlotte won 3 of the 4 quarters by very slim margins while Miami dominated the 3rd quarter winning 32-17 which ultimately decided the game. If Charlotte keeps that quarter close they likely win the game but they didn’t so that’s why they are fishing right now. That game was one where I saw the Kemba Walker the world will be familiarizing themselves with in the coming years. 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks on 11-15 shooting from the field is what we saw from the former UCONN standout during game 4. He kept Charlotte in the game with Al Jefferson sitting out due to injury, I saw a guy who was ultra competitive and was willing to do anything it took to win but had very little help in the process. I saw a guy who is a big time performer and has a chance to develop into an elite point guard in this league if the Bobcats front office surrounds him with more talent, Gerald Henderson isn’t going to cut it.

Walker has a winning DNA, he won a state championship at Rice High School, made one of the most improbable runs en route to becoming a NCAA Champion at UCONN and now is at the forefront of the only team to double their win total in consecutive seasons in NBA history with the Charlotte Bobcats. He got knocked down in his rookie season being part of the worst team in NBA history but ultimately got up and help lead the Bobcats to their 1st playoff appearance since 2010. A lot of guys would have crumbled in his situation losing 128 games in their first 2 NBA seasons after just winning the national championship but he didn’t and that speaks volumes to not only his level of talent but mental fortitude as a basketball player. Even LeBron James knows that basketball in Charlotte is going to be elite very soon saying “This is a team on an uprising with guys like Kemba and Al Jefferson, they got a great coach and will only get better moving forward” after game 4.

This experience is definitely something Kemba can use for motivation in the offseason, every good team in this league goes through this stage of development where they need to push forward and have playoff success and that’s where Kemba is in Charlotte. The days of being among the leagues bottom feeders are effectively over, this is the first step towards building a championship contending basketball team. “I think we appreciate the experience, we’re all pretty disappointed it went this way, but at the same time it’s our first go around for a lot of us. We can only go up from here.” said Walker.

It’s only the beginning for this fairly young team but with guys like Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller the team in Charlotte has good building blocks for the future. The team will rebrand next year and become the Charlotte Hornets which the city is very excited about and I feel will be an even better atmosphere than what we saw in the playoffs. Getting rid the Bobcats moniker is going to do wonders for the psyche of the fan base as that franchise only won 36% of their games throughout the course of their 10 year history. Kemba Walker’s #15 Charlotte Hornets jersey next season will be one of the best sellers in the NBA next season, i’m guaranteeing right now. The Bobcats season/era is over but “The Kemba Crusade” will never stop, enjoy some of Kemba’s best moments from his first playoff appearance in his NBA career.