Fansided

Finishing in the paint is key to Kemba Walker’s offensive game

By Matt Cianfrone

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 5: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 5, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 5: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 5, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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It wasn’t that long ago that the discussion around Kemba Walker was framed around whether he could survive in the NBA, as opposed to whether he could make another All-Star team. Back in the 2013-14 season, Walker shot just 38 percent from the field in 62 games and the questions surrounding him were about if he was a bust. Boy, have things changed since then.

Thanks to a career-high 44 percent mark from the field last year, along with a 40 percent showing from behind the 3-point line, Walker’s reputation is sparkling. In fact, now it feels fair to ask if Walker is one of the best three point guards in the Eastern Conference thanks to his growth. And while his insane quickness, shooting, and ball-handling abilities have driven Walker’s rise, there is something else that he deserves a ton of credit for improving and which is a large part of his ascendance into stardom — his finishing ability.

So far this season Walker is finishing a career-high 59.5 percent of his shots between 0-3 feet per Basketball-Reference. For a player who stands at just 6-foot-1 with a 6-foot-3 wingspan, Walker probably shouldn’t be finishing at such a high rate. But like the rest of his game, Walker has done so much work to improve that he provides himself with a multitude of resources to use when he gets inside. So let’s take a look at a few of them. (All clips come via 3ball.io)

We will start with a play from the Hornets’ most recent game, a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In this play, Walker uses incredible timing and strength to finish through Taj Gibson.

While the strength to power through Gibson will draw the most attention, how Walker gets to that point is just as impressive. Walker uses his speed through the first two dribbles to the rim but Gibson, a good defender, is able to stay close. Once he realizes, that Walker slows down just a hair to get Gibson off-balance before dropping his shoulder into the bigger defender and creating enough space to muscle the shot into the basket. It is just a masterful job of manipulating speeds by Walker.

But Walker has a bunch of other tools to use as well. Here, from the same Timberwolves game, he gets right in line behind Dwight Howard to clear space and get off a floater.

Here against Bismack Biyombo, Walker utilizes the Steve Nash wrong-footed layup to fool the shot blocker and get his shot up before Biyombo can even react and jump.

Walker has insane reverses in his repertoire too.

Of course, it isn’t just these skills that make Walker so special. Thanks to his great improvement in shooting off the dribble since he entered the league, opponents have to respect the shot and cling tightly to Walker. From there he is able to run his opponents into screens as well as any player in the NBA and get into the paint and unleash these finishing skills.

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Considering Walker tends to repeatedly find new ways to improve as people think he may be at his peak, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see his finishing numbers remain high this year. If that is the case, Walker will continue his climb into the echelon of the league’s elite point guards.

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