Serge Ibaka, Kemba Walker: NBA Players deserving their first All-Star bid – Part 2
Serge Ibaka
When Oklahoma City Thunder let go of the 6th man of the year James Harden this summer, the decline was inevitable. Most usual teams cannot recover from the loss of such a talented player, but the Thunder are off course
a class apart and rather than declining Oklahoma City are thriving this season with Serge Ibaka playing a crucial part in their progress.
After the departure of the ‘Bearded One’ all eyes were on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to raise their game and try to fill in the gap, but the Thunder found out a new saviour in the form of Ibaka and it is safe to say the
Thunder are now transitioning back to the big three era with Ibaka stepping up his game.
He is quite a force to reckon with on the front court these days and formerly a single digit scorer has increased his scoring average to 14.2 points per game on the back of a career high 56.6 percent shooting. He has also made
a vast improvement in his ability to score from the foul line and shoots a healthy 83.1 percent from the free throw line, up from 66.1 percent.
The back court remains his territory; he leads the league in blocks per game and has a rebounding average of 8.2 so far this season. Over top of that Thunder lead the Western Conference on 21-5, we rest his case here.
Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker had a far from convincing rookie year and shot a partly 36.6 percent in the Charlotte Bobcats campaign last year that finished on 7-59. He looked hard to fit in the fast paced league and struggled throughout the year.
So what changed now?
Well he is now the best player of his team and is adding 18.8 point per game on a 43.9 percent shooting from the field. He is the top candidate for the most improved player of the league and it’s not just his shooting that has
improved, he is dishing out 6.1 assists and making 2 steals per game, the league’s 5th best rate.
To be honest the absence of quality guards on the Eastern Conference helps his cause a lot. Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry have better stats than him but they have only played 16 games so far. Jrue Holiday looks strong but he turns
over the ball 3.8 times a game.
He will be surely more surprised than us if he gets the nod this February.
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