NBA on Nov. 19: Kemba Walker continues to explode

World
Europe

Having seen his glory of a 60-point game taken away by Jimmy Butler with a 0.3-second game-winning three-pointer earlier, Kemba Walker put on another remarkable game on Monday as he scored 43 points, including 21 in the last quarter, to help the Charlotte Hornets defeat the Boston Celtics 117-112.

Walker hears 'MVP' in front of Michael Jordan

Kemba Walker scored 43 points to help the Charlotte Hornets defeat the Boston Celtics 117-112. /VCG Photo

Having been selected by the Hornets with the ninth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Walker shared a lot in common with the Celtics' All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who also joined the league in 2011 but as the first overall pick. They are both short, incredible ball-handlers who are better at scoring than orchestrating. As for their differences: 1. Irving is a better 3-point shooter and finisher under the rim. 2. Walker has been ignored by the basketball world most of the time.

That was not the story on Monday as Walker finished the first quarter by putting down 12 points, helping Charlotte lead 29-24. Though Irving responded by dropping points in multiple key moments to keep Boston leading into the fourth quarter, Walker's return from the bench changed the game.

Kyrie Irving (#11) put down 27 points and 11 assists but was outperformed by Kemba Walker. /VCG Photo

He first led an 11-0 run with penetration and a 3-point shot to regain the lead, then Walker scored another 11 points in a row to maintain the Hornets' lead in front of Boston's counter-strike launched by Al Horford, Irving and Jason Tatum. In the last 50 seconds, Tatum narrowed the score to three by making a shot from the 3-point area only to see Walker answer on the next possession. In the end, Charlotte secured a tough win at the Spectrum Center.

After dropping 103 points in two games, Walker became the sixth player in NBA history to score 40+ points after a 60-point game, right after Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich, Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant. From 2015-2018, Walker finished three straight regular seasons scoring over 20 points per game, but he was often ignored when people talked about who is the best guard in the Eastern Conference. Things finally started to change in 2017 when he made it onto the All-Star team. Perhaps Walker's name should also be noted when people decide the lists for the All-NBA teams.

Are Washington Wizards falling a part？

The Washington Wizards have signaled that all players are available for trade. /VCG Photo

Another piece of big news in the NBA on Monday did not happen on the court-the Washington Wizards are open to discuss trade over every of their players, including the All-Star back-court dual, John Wall and Bradley Beal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Though the Wizards wanted to build their franchise around Wall and Beal, their 5-11 record, which is only two games better than the tanking Atlanta Hawks, might have convinced the team that a reconstruction is imminent.

Bradley Beal (#3), Otto Porter (#22) and John Wall (#2) all have contracts over 100 million U.S. dollars with the Wizards. /VCG Photo

The Wizards have a payroll of about 132 million U.S. dollars, thanks to three 100-million-U.S.-dollar contracts they gave to Wall, Beal and Otto Porter. Wall, who has the biggest of the three, will see his contract come into effect in the 2019-2020 season and take a bite of 42 million U.S. dollars on average for four years. the team will not see a The team will not see their payroll slip below 100 million U.S. dollars until at least the 2021-2022 season.

The Wizards have tried to bag Porter and Kelly Oubre to trade for a third All-Star level player on the market but did not receive many phone calls. Wall and Beal are supposed to be their most valuable leverage right now, especially Beal who is not only three years younger than Wall, but also has a smaller contract. Besides, as a quality scorer who can both shoot and handle the ball, Beal can find his role immediately in a new team around a leader without damaging chemistry.

Beal (#3) is expected to be the most valuable leverage for the Wizards on the market. /VCG Photo

Wall is a different story. When he entered the NBA in 2010, he was seen as a player who shares the size and athleticism of Russell Westbrook but plays much smarter. He did well in the first seven seasons and in the 2016-17 season he even dropped 23.1 points, 10 assists and two steals per game, all career highs.

However, Wall's main problem has been with him the whole time: shooting. Instead of improving his disappointing three-point shooting, Wall saw his field-goal percentage hover around 43 percent, which is low for a core point guard. Furthermore, as teams began to realize Wall's weakness, they executed defensive schemes making it difficult for him to orchestrate and attack on offense.

Wall (#2) lacks shooting range and his huge contract as well as his temper issues are hurting his trade value. /VCG Photo

The Wizards have more reasons than their disappointing performance this season (or in the past several seasons) to start rebuilding. According to Woj, in a recent practice session, the Wizards witnessed a fierce quarrel. Wall first argued with his teammate Jeff Green and then yelled "f**k you" to head coach Scott Brooks.

Shams Charania of The Athletic followed by reporting that Beal was also on fire and complained to Wizards' officials: "I've been dealing with this for seven years!" Considering that Wall's the team's only player to play with Beal for seven years, it's not hard to see who he was talking about.

Other games on Monday included: (away teams come first)

Joel Embiid dropped 33 points and 17 rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns 119-114. /VCG Photo

Cleveland Cavaliers 102-113 Detroit Pistons

Utah Jazz 94-121 Indiana Pacers

Phoenix Suns 114-119 Philadelphia 76ers

Los Angeles Clippers 127-119 Atlanta Hawks

Dallas Mavericks 88-98 Memphis Grizzlies

Denver Nuggets 98-104 Milwaukee Bucks

San Antonio Spurs 126-140 New Orleans Pelicans

Oklahoma City Thunder 113-117 Sacramento Kings