Kemba Walker vs Kyrie Irving – who will get a higher draft pick this year? Part 1
Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving are probably the two best point guards up for grabs in this years’ NBA Draft. The 20 year old Irving, who is 6ft 2in tall, played his college basketball at Duke and the two year older Kemba, who stands
6 feet, was at University of Connecticut (UConn).
Which one of them will become a better player in the NBA is too hard a question to answer. They can both go on to have successful careers or fall by the wayside to become another draft bust story. Their futures simply cannot be
reasonably ascertained; however we can get an idea by comparing the attributes of both against each other.
Scoring:
The importance of scoring for point guards is evident from the previous NBA season. The likes of Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo do much more than direct traffic for their sides. They are also very formidable scoring outlets and invaluable
to their respective teams.
Irving’s season was cut short due to injury, however, what little we saw of him was very promising. Irving is athletic and strong and can get into the lane. His percentage from the field was a very healthy 52.9 and he was solid
from the line with an over 90 percent conversion rate. As such he is a very capable scorer.
Kemba has played much more basketball then Kyrie, which means he shot more as well. His numbers are lower, 43 percent from the field and 79 from the free throw line. What the stats don’t mention however is the combination of Kemba’s
quickness and ability to hit jumpers from all over the court. Kemba constantly uses his speed to offset defenders and the can pull up a jumpers at will. As such, he is always a scoring threat.
Passing:
Perhaps the most important job of a point guard is to get his team going on the offensive end. He is supposed to find his open teammates with eye catching passes and create scoring opportunities for them. The glittering careers
of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash are testament to the importance of passing in a point guard’s game.
Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving had identical numbers for assists last year, both averaging 4.3. Walker is comfortable with the ball in his hands and finds an open teammate with ease. His three years of college basketball have given
him a maturity in decision making with regards to passing. Walker’s small frame and quickness can also be used to penetrate defences, after which an open teammate can easily be found.
Irving is also a good passer of the ball. The Duke side that he played for was a pretty good unit, but it was visible to anyone who followed their season that they seemed even more like a well oiled machine when Irving was in the
side. NBA scouts have pointed out that there is room for improvement in his passing, and maybe he sometimes takes a shot rather than move the ball along to the next guy.
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