The New York Knicks have had some up and down performances to start the 2021-22 NBA season. Their 10-8 record isn’t bad by any means, but they have struggled to come out ready to go every night.
Last season, New York found a lot of their success based on their performance defensively. Tom Thibodeau had them locked in on that end of the court, keeping them in every game. They have yet to have the same product on the defensive side of the ball, but that was expected with some of the changes that were made in the offseason.
Leon Rose and Scott Perry decided the team needed to add some more offensive weapons to the mix. Two defensive-minded starters, Elfird Payton and Reggie Bullock departed in free agency. In their place, Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier were signed.
Walker’s signing is one that people were excited about. New York has been looking for an answer at the point guard position for a long time and after the struggles, Payton had on the offensive end last season, Walker was a welcome addition.
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The Bronx native started the season hot, as he was knocking down 3-pointers with regularity. He scored in double-figures his first seven games in orange and blue but has fallen on tough times recently.
Walker has struggled mightily in his last 10 games, averaging only 8.8 points and 3.1 assists, making 37 percent of his field-goal attempts and 24 percent from the 3-point line.
Walker’s performance is concerning, but some of those numbers are a regression to the mean after a hot start. His 3-point shooting percentage is still the highest mark of his career despite the less than stellar performance in the last 10 games.
Given the complementary role, the percentages are what is most important for Walker. There was no real route to pushing toward 20+ points per game with Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Fournier also needing touches in the starting five.
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Some people want to see a lineup change, but it is still too early for that to happen. The New York Knicks starting five as a whole has struggled at times, it is not just Walker that has fallen on tough times.
Thibodeau stuck with Payton as his starting point guard last season despite his offensive issues, so it is hard to imagine Kemba Walker getting removed from the starting lineup any time soon, especially only 18 games into the season.
Given how well the second unit is playing, it wouldn’t make any sense to break them up by inserting either Derrick Rose or Immanuel Quickley into the starting lineup. The team still has a winning record, so unless things go all the way south, it makes sense to continue finding ways for the starting five to get on the same page much like the bench mob has.
