The NBA Better Put Kemba Walker On Notice

Think of the top point guards in the NBA, you might think of guys like Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, John Wall, Damian Lillard, or Kyrie Irving. But one name that often does not come up is Kemba Walker.

When people think of Kemba Walker the first thing that comes to mind is his infamous step back buzzer beater or how he carried UCONN to a National Championship. His NBA career has been sort of overlooked. Maybe it's because he wasn't amazing when he first came into the NBA and he was overlooked by his draft class mate Kyrie Irving or maybe it's because he plays on a small market NBA team in Charlotte. None the less it is time to start recognizing how good Kemba Walker really is.

So far in this young NBA season Kemba is playing by far his best basketball of his career. He is currently averaging career highs in points per game, field goal percentage, PER, and three point field goal percentage. Every night he comes out trying to lift the sneaky good Hornets to a victory. On Wednesday night versus the Spurs on ESPN he was nearly impossible to stop. He was going anywhere he wanted on the court. In the fourth quarter it was almost him versus the whole Spurs team. The Spurs would score then Kemba would slice to the basket and get a tough layup. The Spurs would make a shot then Kemba would drive past three other Spurs and make a kneecap scoop layup. Even at one point the Spurs hit a three and then Kemba came up the court and hit an and-one three. That game was only a small sample of what Kemba Walker has been doing all this year and last year.

Every time Kemba steps onto the court he seems to play with a chip on his shoulder. Last year he had a career year by averaging 20.9 points per game and leading the Hornets to the playoffs. Even though he was on a good team and was easily one of the point guards in the East he didn't make the All Star Team. In fact Jeremy Lin, who at the time was the back up point guard for Kemba, received almost double the amount of votes Kemba got.

Things like that are what drives Kemba Walker to play hard every night that he steps onto the court. He deserves the NBA world to give him the respect he has earned and if not he is only going to make you pay.

Now the Hornets are one the top teams in the East and Kemba Walker is the best player on their team, if you don't think he is going to try and gain the recognition he deserves you're wrong. He will go out their and try to prove to everybody why is one of the best point guards in the league.

Clippers Last Chance?

On December 14, 2011 Chris Paul was traded to the Clippers. Ever since the Clippers have been deemed a Western Conference title contender every year. But even with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Doc Rivers at the reigns, the Clippers have never made an appearance at the NBA Finals. Every year there is a new reason they can't make it, wether it be injury, a bad matchup, or bench depth. Now with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both possibly becoming free agents at season end this could be the last chance for the Clippers to make a title run.

This may be the deepest and most talented Clippers team since the addition of Chris Paul. With a very experienced team there is no reason to say the Clippers can't compete with the Spurs and Warriors out West. With Kevin Durant gone to the Warriors that makes the Clippers the clear third best team in the West. Plus with the Warriors early chemistry issues and the Spurs weak bench play the Clippers could compete for even higher seeding in the West.

In the past the Clippers achilles heel has been their bench play but early on this year it has been one of it's bright spots. With Austin Rivers really finding his niche off the bench, Jamal Crawford doing his normal offensive things, and veteran experience in Paul Pierce, Mo Speights, and Brandon Bass the Clippers bench has the potential to be one of the best in the NBA. Plus if that means it can limit the minutes the starters can play and keep them fresh after 82 games it can bold really well for them in the playoffs.

After a 2014 season where the Clippers were 16th in points allowed per game they decided to totally overhaul the teams philosophy. They switched to a totally defensive identity, last year finishing top 10 in defense and now this year starting off 1st in defense. They've figured out and embraced how to play "team defense" and with DeAndre Jordan protecting the rim no team will have an easy time scoring points on them.

In the process of figuring out their defensive identity they seemed to have lost a step on the offensive side. Almost all of their offensive statistics went down from the previous year. Then all of last year they looked very stagnant on offense and couldn't get easy shots. Wether that was a result of different lineups and injuries, their offense did not look good. Early on this year their offense has not looked great either but there is a lot of optimism that their offense could easily evolve into one of the best they have had in years. With a healthy team and many years of playing together the Clippers offense should have continuity and evolve into one of the best in the league.

With so much talent there is no reason the Clippers can't find a great balance on offense and defense. If they can do that the Warriors and Spurs better be put on notice because it won't be a two team battle to get to the championship.

The Clipper's time is now to go all in on making the championship. If not, Chris Paul at age 31, may look elsewhere for a championship ring and maybe Blake Griffin decides it's time for a new change of scenery. There is no reason they can't do it, they have as much talent as the Spurs and Warriors and are still in the top class in the West.

Bulls Looking Like Sure Fire Playoff Team

On Halloween night the Bulls officially put the NBA on notice. They handed the Nets a 118-88 beatdown. The win puts the Bulls record to 3-0, against some of the so called "East contenders". They have now had two convincing wins in a row. With their start they are the hottest team out of the gate for this very young NBA season.

The Bulls made a lot of splashy moves in the offseason by trading away Derrick Rose, letting Joakim Noah walk, signing Rajon Rondo, and signing Chicago native Dwyane Wade. The Bulls had instantly been reshaped into a whole new team. Nobody doubted wether or not the talent was there but everybody questioned the fit for each player. Fred Hoiberg since coming to Chicago has preached pace and space. The Bulls management gave him (on paper) exactly the opposite. They went out and got what the rest of the NBA thought were non-shooters in Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Michael Carter Williams, to go alongside a mediocre shooter in Jimmy Butler. Along with that every single one of those players had been deemed ball-dominant since coming into the NBA.

None the less the Bulls have surprised everybody and showed that their game 1 victory over the Celtics was no fluke. From there they have demolished the Pacers and Nets. In those three games they have hit a franchise record 31 threes on 42.5 percent shooting to start the season. For what many thought was a team that couldn't shoot the three, that's pretty damn good. Not only has the three point shooting been there but also the spacing and ball movement have been near perfect. The prefect example of this was on Monday night versus the Nets when the Bulls got the rebound on defense and threw two passes without dribbling and gave Dwyane Wade an alley-oop on the other end.

The Bulls players have given credit to chemistry for the reason why the offense and the team has been so good. Rajon Rondo was quoted saying "Until your inside the locker room, you don't understand our chemistry and how we fight for another." Not to say that chemistry hasn't played a huge role (you can't play in Fred Hoiberg's offense without chemistry) the credit should really be given to second year coach Fred Hoiberg. He has figured out a way to get each one of his players to put their egos aside and play true "team" basketball. None of the Bulls core in Wade, Butler, or Rondo seem concerned about getting their own baskets. The way the Bulls have moved the ball in three games is better than it had been all last season. The offense is just more free flowing and fluid. 

Hoiberg's dream offense for the Bulls is starting to look like it might come to fruition. The Bulls pace has visibly been improved, the ball is moving more efficiently than ever, and have you ever seen so many dribble handoffs by a team? Hoiberg in his second year has gotten the players to buy in to what he had wanted to do all last year. Even with players who didn't necessarily fit what Hoiberg's plan was, he has adjusted to all his player's strengths and put them in positions to succeed all the meanwhile still playing the offense that he envisioned. It's a beautiful thing to see when the Bulls are moving the ball around so much and the combination of Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler look like they are just free to do their own thing on the court and that should be scary to the rest of the NBA. You give just a little room to Dwyane Wade and Jimmy "Buckets" Butler and they are lethal when attacking the basket.

The Bulls still have a lot to prove. There is no way they are going to keep shooting at a 42.5 percent clip from deep and they are going to have to prove they can play consistent defense every night. But for right now Fred Hoiberg and the Bulls look more dangerous than they have in years.