Kemba is back

[Scoe]

Well he's been back for a couple games, 29 tonight in a loss. His game this year is borderline all-star level. Too bad he got hurt he might have gotten with all the injured allstars.

 

[Rocktheworld]

He has been chucking way too hard to get All-Star honors any time soon, sadly. Under 40% shooting on the year

Who knows what he could do on a decent team, I imagine he ends up having to do a lot on his own which is much harder in the NBA

 

[sammydabiz]

His game this year is borderline all-star level.

The problem with Kemba is he's a "scoring pg" who shoots under 40% from the field.
Plus he doesn't dime at an efficient rate to be a productive pg in the NBA, I think he had 2 assist today. His ideal role is more of a 6th man who can get buckets in a flash, similar to what Jason Terry was in his heyday. If he can improve his vision and get his teammates more involved in the half court, thus creating higher % shots for them, than he will be an all star pg. But right now, he is not, eventhough he put down 29 and had a good shooting night. He just isn't efficient enough to play hero ball.

 

[BUConn10]

The problem with Kemba is he's a "scoring pg" who shoots under 40% from the field.
Plus he doesn't dime at an efficient rate to be a productive pg in the NBA, I think he had 2 assist today. His ideal role is more of a 6th man who can get buckets in a flash, similar to what Jason Terry was in his heyday. If he can improve his vision and get his teammates more involved in the half court, thus creating higher % shots for them, than he will be an all star pg. But right now, he is not, eventhough he put down 29 and had a good shooting night. He just isn't efficient enough to play hero ball.

I disagree with that part. Kemba has been one of the most efficient ballhandlers in the league the last couple years. For how much he handles the ball for the Hornets he has one of the lowest TO/g numbers in the whole league. Hes been Top 5 in AST/TO ratio the last two years I believe.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/assistTurnoverRatio

 

[Scoe]

Well he's been back for a couple games, 29 tonight in a loss. His game this year is borderline all-star level. Too bad he got hurt he might have gotten with all the injured allstars.

Ill correct my last sentence there. Its too bad he ended up getting hurt he might have gotten into the all-star game with all the injured allstars. Hopefully he can sneak into an all-star game eventually.

 

[sammydabiz]

I disagree with that part. Kemba has been one of the most efficient ballhandlers in the league the last couple years. For how much he handles the ball for the Hornets he has one of the lowest TO/g numbers in the whole league. Hes been Top 5 in AST/TO ratio the last two years I believe.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/assistTurnoverRatio

Maybe I used the wrong word, your right Kemba does not turnover the ball (definitely one of his strengths), what I meant is: he doesn't assist enough for the amount of time he handles the ball. If you check out that website you linked, the AP48m (avg assists per 48 minutes) is 7.1, which currently ranks as 39th in the NBA. For a starting pg, who's the primary ballhandler.....that number needs to be better. Especially if he's chucking under 40%
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/avg48Assists

Eventhough I'm pointing out his flaws, he's my fav player in the NBA, but if he wants to reach "that next tier" he has to change his game a bit

 

[caw]

Maybe I used the wrong word, your right Kemba does not turnover the ball (definitely one of his strengths), what I meant is: he doesn't assist enough for the amount of time he handles the ball. If you check out that website you linked, the AP48m (avg assists per 48 minutes) is 7.1, which currently ranks as 39th in the NBA. For a starting pg, who's the primary ballhandler.....that number needs to be better. Especially if he's chucking under 40%
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/avg48Assists

Eventhough I'm pointing out his flaws, he's my fav player in the NBA, but if he wants to reach "that next tier" he has to change his game a bit

Part of that is related to the team he plays on. You don't get an assist when the ball is dumped into Al Jefferson. Dude pounds the ball into the ground. Throw in MKG not beings catch and shoot guy and that's two starters that you really can't get assists by giving them good passes. That limits his assists to mostly Henderson and Zeller among the starters. Just saying assist totals can be blown out of proportion. I do agree it hurts his chances at being an Allstar though.

Also, are those pace adjusted? I have it in my head the Bobca...hornets play at a slow pace.

 

[amory]

He has been chucking way too hard to get All-Star honors any time soon, sadly. Under 40% shooting on the year

Who knows what he could do on a decent team, I imagine he ends up having to do a lot on his own which is much harder in the NBA

I think Charlotte will become a decent team in the next couple years, especially with a couple more lottery picks. They're already a borderline playoff team (granted the east is bad).

 

[nomar]

Part of that is related to the team he plays on. You don't get an assist when the ball is dumped into Al Jefferson. Dude pounds the ball into the ground. Throw in MKG not beings catch and shoot guy and that's two starters that you really can't get assists by giving them good passes. That limits his assists to mostly Henderson and Zeller among the starters. Just saying assist totals can be blown out of proportion. I do agree it hurts his chances at being an Allstar though.

Also, are those pace adjusted? I have it in my head the Bobca...hornets play at a slow pace.

I'd bet that Kemba's rate of "missed assists" (i.e., passes to open shooters, who miss) is as high as any PG's in the league.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

Charlotte has the worst 3 pt shooting in the league. Kemba gets no assists on drive and dish to an open shooter because they miss. Also, Al is not a great big man to get assists with. He likes to get the ball and hold, dribble or pump fake. I watch almost every game, very frustrating team to watch. Kemba would be around 7 assists a night on a better shooting team. The fact that he gets 5-6 a night is amazing with this putrid shooting team.

 

[UConn990411]

The public perception of Kemba is starting to remind me of Russell Westbrook on a much smaller scale. Basically it seems like people go out of their way to point out what he doesn't do, to the point of understating all the things he does do.

No, Kemba is not a perfect player or traditional PG, but he's very, very good. And he's still young enough (he won't be 25 till May) that we can expect him to get even better.

 

[nomar]

The public perception of Kemba is starting to remind me of Russell Westbrook on a much smaller scale. Basically it seems like people go out of their way to point out what he doesn't do, to the point of understating all the things he does do.

No, Kemba is not a perfect player or traditional PG, but he's very, very good. And he's still young enough (he won't be 25 till May) that we can expect him to get even better.

You mean, that's what they used to do -- until Westbrook went bananas and nobody with sight could deny that he's killing it.

 

[sammydabiz]

The Hornet off scheme can play a role, add to the fact that he loses some ast from guys just not hitting their J's or not finishing at the rim. (but this happens on every squad, not just Charlotte) All in all, it's not going to "drastically" improve his stats.... in the past 4 years (since being drafted) he's been a ~5 ast per game point guard. Those numbers have been steady , no matter who was on the team or the offensive gameplan he was running.
The Hornets traded for Mo Williiams a couple weeks back, since his trade, he's been averaging 7.3 ast/game.....with the same teammates as Kemba, did they just decide to hit their shots because Mo is dishing them the ball?
Kemba can absolutely improve his assists, he just has to tweak his game a little. Specifically.....you can't, as point guard, be 22nd overall in the NbA in field goal attempts per game, especially when you're shooting under 40%.
I too, watch a lot of Hornets game, he just needs to set up his teammates in better situations and create more: lobs at the rim, back door passes, quicker outlets on fast breaks, more drives & dishes.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

You're comparing a handful of games for Mo Williams to Kemba. Also Kemba doesn't turn the ball over, his assists to to ratio is very good.
Charlotte is a very bad shooting team, very bad. You're telling if you put his on a western team he would still have 5 assists per game. I watch all hornets games. I think he avg 6 assists last year. That was due to Josh McRoberts being on the team.

 

[sammydabiz]

You're comparing a handful of games for Mo Williams to Kemba. Also Kemba doesn't turn the ball over, his assists to to ratio is very good.
Charlotte is a very bad shooting team, very bad. You're telling if you put his on a western team he would still have 5 assists per game. I watch all hornets games. I think he avg 6 assists last year. That was due to Josh McRoberts being on the team.

Go to any forum that follows Hornets basketball, they repeat the same things I've just said.... I like Kemba, he's my favorite player, but that doesn't mean I'm going to overlook his deficiencies. He's a good player, but to be at an "all star level" (which was the original basis of this thread), he has to make some changes, that's where I was coming from.
As a starting pg in the NBA, you can't be 22nd in the league (out of all positions) in fg attempts and shoot under 40%, you won't win games that way.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

Go to any forum that follows Hornets basketball, they repeat the same things I've just said....

No offense, but I watch the game with my 2 eyes. I do not need to go to a Hornets fan forum site with a bunch of fair weather idiots. Trust me, I've been to their forum, not impressed. Kemba scores 30, he's an All-Star, Kemba goes 3-12, he's trash...been there.

I have watched or have been live just about every Hornets/Bobcats games since Kemba went to the team. He looses assists because his team cannot shoot and they run terrible offense sets, that was my point. I will agree his shooting % can be better, but he is relied on to main a main scorer, I think he would do better if he was in a better system with better players. Never said he was an All-star, but think he can be a fringe all-star type player in the right system. Dude's not even 25 yet.

Don't know what else to say, we'll agree to disagree.

 

[sammydabiz]

No offense, but I watch the game with my 2 eyes. I do not need to go to a Hornets fan forum site with a bunch of fair weather idiots. Trust me, I've been to their forum, not impressed. Kemba scores 30, he's an All-Star, Kemba goes 3-12, he's trash...been there.

I have watched or have been live just about every Hornets/Bobcats games since Kemba went to the team. He looses assists because his team cannot shoot and they run terrible offense sets, that was my point. I will agree his shooting % can be better, but he is relied on to main a main scorer, I think he would do better if he was in a better system with better players. Never said he was an All-star, but think he can be a fringe all-star type player in the right system. Dude's not even 25 yet.

Don't know what else to say, we'll agree to disagree.

I generally agree with everything you just said boss, we're not far off at all.

"Never said he was an All-star, but think he can be a fringe all-star type player in the right system. Dude's not even 25 yet."

I agree with that wholeheartedly.....

If you look at the end of last year: Kemba was playing some of the best ball of his career: From 02/01/2014-04/30/2014 the Hornets went 22-12, Kemba played in 31 of those games and averaged 16.3pts, 7.6ast, and 4.2rebs and the team scored 100+ppg…. he has it in him to definitely be an all star caliber guard

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

I would love to see him in a better system, either by Hornets changing things up or being traded. I do like being able to watch him play locally though.

 

[sammydabiz]

I would love to see him in a better system, either by Hornets changing things up or being traded. I do like being able to watch him play locally though.

For sure, I think with the recent 4yr $48 mil deal.... Kem's the face of the Hornets going forward (him and MKG).....I'm not sure if Clifford is the answer, or maybe they should let Al go, his defense has become a liability. Plus I feel he limits Kemba offensively, by clogging up the paint and thus Kemba having to rely on his jumpshot too much. Would of liked to see what they have in Vonleh this year, but Cliff hasn't let him do much.
Maybe the hornets can steal Thibbs from Chicago in the offseason, would love to see what he could do with this squad, lots of potential

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

Kemba's best run this year was when Al was down. I think most local fans here want to see this team without Al, he does clog up the offense. They really need some perimeter shooters though, they are very hard to watch.