Walker is having a very good season in the D-League thus far, averaging 19 points and 5 rebounds, shooting an excellent 55% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. His assist to turnover ratio is not where you would want it to be, averaging over twice as many turnovers as assists, but to his credit, he does have a very large share in his teams offense, and is really being extremely aggressive with his touches.
Walker had an outstanding game yesterday, as he went 10-12 from the field on his way to a team high 26 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the process as well. Perhaps even more impressive than that however was the way in which he did it. He had several thunderous dunks throughout the game, including a baseline drive in the 3rd quarter where he rose above two players for a three point play. Plays like this erase any doubts about the status of his knees, as he looked extremely comfortable finishing above the rim and also on his hard cuts to the basket. Along with James White, Walker appears to be the most athletic player weve seen in the Showcase thus far.
His ability to slash to the basket and get in the paint was on full display. He doesnt have the ball-handling skills to fully utilize his athleticism yet, but he is clever in his approach using several maneuvers to get his defender off balance and gain a half a step, driving left most of the time. He also uses his strength very well, driving into the paint and then turning the move into a post up to bully his way to the rim. His mentality is to try and dunk the ball every time, which is definitely how you want to see a player with his tools approach the game.
The one three pointer he took went in, but it was only one, which would suggest a lack of confidence and capability in that area. His stroke looked good, even from the FT line where he went 5-5, but he seemed hesitant to pull the trigger when left open resorting to pump fakes and drives to the basket. If he can really improve this area of his game he will be a very tough player to match up with. Hes only attempting two 3-pointers per-game in the D-League thus farhitting 40% of his attemptsbut the sample size does leave something to be desired just 15 games in. This is obviously a very important part of his development.
His overall guard skills can use some improvement as well, as he didnt look all that comfortable dribbling the ball under pressure and threw some questionable passes in the half-court. His defense was solid all game long, as he was active with his hands and was the first person to several loose balls.
Editor's Note: We incorrectly stated that Danny Ainge left the game after the first quarter. That was incorrect. As we just learned, he had gotten up and moved to a different seat and even stayed to talk to his players after the game was over. We apologize for the error.
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