Hornets’ Kemba Walker was on a run until injury
Kemba Walker
Position: Point guard.
Contract status: Next season begins Walker’s extension. He will make $12 million each of the next four seasons.
Seasons in the NBA: Four.
Telling statistic: Walker took the second-most shots from the field among Hornets (981). His field-goal percentage (38.5 percent) is 112th in the NBA among players with enough attempts to qualify among league leaders.
Season review: The Hornets made a huge financial commitment to Walker in the preseason. He is the only Hornet with a guaranteed contract beyond next season. It is not typical of this franchise to extend a rookie-scale contract before a player at least reaches restricted free-agency.
Walker had a six-game run in January when he scored 28 or more points in each game. Then he hurt his left knee, requiring surgery to repair a meniscus. This was the first serious injury of his career. He missed six weeks and after he came back he had only four games of 20 or more points.
Walker is probably never going to be a great shooter, but he makes pressure shots late in close games. He’s fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.22 to 1) and he has improved his pick-and-roll defense. Losing Price to the Charlotte 49ers meant Walker lost a great resource. A former All-Star point guard, Price was valuable in advising Walker about changing pace and how to finish in traffic without always putting his body at so much risk at the rim.
This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Hornets’ Kemba Walker was on a run until injury."