Brooklyn Nets guard Lonnie Walker IV came to the Nets with a goal of earning some playing time within Brooklyn’s backcourt rotation. Based off how he has performed this preseason, Walker seems to have earned a spot in the rotation with the potential for more.
Through the Nets’ four preseason games, Walker averaged 15.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 38.9% from deep. With those stats, Walker averaged the second-most points on the team, Cam Thomas led the team with a 16.3 points per game average, while averaging the ninth-most minutes (19.0) on the squad.
While it is noted that Walker proved what the NBA has seen from him during his five seasons in the league, he showed that he could do that on a team without superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis that he got to play with last season. When Walker came into the game for Brooklyn, he not only proved that he could do what’s asked for him, but he can also do more than that.
With all of the changes that Brooklyn has seen since the trade deadline of this past season, Walker is one of the players that is needed to come in and perform in his role if the Nets are going to make anything out of this season. Walker, the 18th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, will have to impact the game through playmaking and defense as well as he does with his scoring.
As evidence by his 22-point game against the Miami Heat in Brooklyn’s preseason finale on Wednesday, Walker is ready for the challenge. In fact, what Walker had to say during Media Day a few weeks ago will ring true for the rest of this season with the way Walker is playing now:
“To be this close to home, I know how the energy is here (in Brooklyn). I know what to feel, what to relate and just what to bring. I know how to play the game, I play really hard, I know the fans are going to love me being here.”
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