November 2, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker (15) pulls up to shoot during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Yeah, this post is a little late, but it took a while for my blood temperature to get back to normal after it boiled over when I learned Paul George, and not Kemba Walker, had won the NBA’s most improved player award.

There’s really only one point I have to make to prove that Walker improved more, but I’ll list several others to drive this fact far into your skull.

For one, George and Walker got better at an equal rate in almost every statistical category this year. George went from 12.1 to 17.4 points per game. Walker made a jump from 12.1 to 17.7. George went from 2.4 to 4.1 assists per game. Walker jumped from 4.4 to 5.7. George’s rebounds per game went from 4.8 to 6.5. Walker’s didn’t go anywhere (3.5 to 3.5).

Walker’s shooting percentage went from 36 to 42 percent, while George’s got worse, falling from 44 to 41 percent. Walker also became a better three-point shooter this year, making the jump from 30 to 32 percent. George got worse at three-point shooting falling from 39 to 36 percent.

George required a significantly larger number of plays to improve his game than Walker; The Pacer’s usage rate (estimate of percentage of team plays used by a player while on the floor) jumped from 19 to 23 percent this season. Walkers stayed steady at 25. George’s offensive rating fell, while Walker’s got better. But, Walker’s defensive rating stayed the same, while George’s plummeted (that’s good for a D rating).

Now that you know all of that, here’s the one thing you really need to know to figure out why Walker should’ve been picked over George: Walker’s PER (a measure of per minute production) went from 15 to 19. George’s? Just 16.5 to 16.8.

So the per game stats got better for each player in a similar way, as did their advanced statistics. Walker’s per minute production significantly improved, though, while George’s didn’t get any better.

If that’s the case, who’s really “most improved” this season?

Mar 29, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) drives past New York Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni (9) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not sure why, but Kemba Walker is never mentioned as a contender for the the NBA’s most improved player this season.

It makes no sense.

He’s averaging 5.6 more points and 1.3 more assists per game than he did last year. But that’s not the reason he’s the NBA’s most improved player.

Walker’s shooting percentage has sky-rocketed from 37 in his rookie year to 42 percent this season. His three-point percentage is up from 30 percent to 32 percent, and his true-shooting percentage is now over 50 percent. But none of that is why he’s the NBA’s most improved player.

His offensive rating is up almost 10 points from a season ago, his steal percentage and assist percentage have risen, and his PER is well above the league average. None of that has anything to do with why he is the NBA’s most improved player.

He plays for the Charlotte Bobcats, and he is the guy who makes his team go. On a team as bad as the Bobcats, it’s amazing that a second year player like Walker, under his second head NBA head coach in as many seasons, has improved as much as he has.

The most impressive part of all those stats I listed above is the fact that they’re all trending upward while his usage rate has held solid at 25 percent.

That means he’s not using more plays to get better. He’s wildly more effective than he was last year on the same percentage of team plays devoted to him.

Even if he doesn’t win any awards this year, this one stat bodes very well for him and Charlotte.

April 9, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker (1) passes the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards at Time Warner Cable Arena. Wizards win 113-85. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

As much as I love Kemba Walker and have been his number-one internet cheerleader this season, there’s no way to get around the fact that he’s just not been as hot putting the ball through the rim the past two games as he has most of the year.

Against New York and Philadelphia, Walker scored just 16 points each game on 32 and 43 percent shooting.

But, he also dished out 17 combined assists in those two games.

Translation: He’s still finding ways to be effective on offense, and I can still be a cheerleader for him.

His assist numbers have held pretty steady between 5.5 and six assists per game all year, and that’s a huge step for Walker in improving his game. Last year he averaged 4.4 assists, and opposing PGs didn’t have to respect his passing ability as much as they have this season.

It also meant he wasn’t able to help his team offensively as much last season when his shots weren’t falling.

I think an important aspect of any great NBA player’s game is how he helps his team when he’s not playing well.

Walker isn’t a great player yet, but he’s on his way, and these solid assist numbers during games when his scoring just isn’t there is one reason why.

March 27, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats forward center Bismack Biyombo (0) forward Michael Kidd Gilchrist (14) and Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris (12) go for a rebound during the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

It is not everyday the Bobcats win, it is not everyday the Bobcats comeback from a 19 point first quarter deficit, and you certainly never see two Bobcats score 30+ in the same game, but on Wednesday night all those things happened in the same game.

The Bobcats even scored over 100 points. The bigtime scorers tonight for the Cats’ were Kemba Walker with 34 and Gerald Henderson with 34. Both players played extremely efficiently and added some nice defensive plays throughout the game.

Bismack Biyombo on the defensive end added some nice blocks, and added 11 points, seven rebounds, and had a +/- or +23.

For the Magic Tobias Harris went off with 29. Unfortunately for him almost half his team was injured limiting the Magic’s scoring options. Kyle O’ Quinn added 23 points, but it just was not the Magic’s night.

Perhaps the most amazing part of tonight’s game is the fact that the Bobcats were down 19 after the first quarter before reeling off three straight quarters of 30+ points. For a team that normally struggles to score tonight everything was clicking on the offensive end.

Feb 2, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) shoots against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Roberto Gato has consistently made the case for Kemba Walker as a premier young guard in the NBA.

One thing we’ve had to concede, thought is the fact that his three-point jump shot just wasn’t very good.

Could that all be changing?

Well, it’s a short sample size, but over the past five games, Walker is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc.

Before I go any further, I should point out that I absolutely despise the types of sports media folks out there who love to jump on a trend and set the overreact meter to over 9,000.

So when you read these next words, you’ll know I believe what I’m saying:

Kemba Walker is getting better at shooting threes.

He’s nowhere near turning into a sharpshooter, but he’s also not that far away from being able to knock the long-ball down with some consistency.

Last year Walker was just a 30 percent shooter from behind the arc.

Already this year, he’s a 35 percent three-point shooter.

The reason I think he’s close to being in the 38-40 percent range, is the fact that he’s gotten better at shooting threes as the season has gone on.

He was atrocious from deep when the season started in November (sub 30 percent), then, in December and January, he shot 37 and 38 percent from behind the arc.

His February three point shooting percentage is back around 35 percent, but as I mentioned at the top, that number is rising, because since the All Star break, he’s shooting 46 percent from three-point range.

Again, Walker isn’t becoming a Novakian sniper, but he is getting closer and  closer to knocking down threes with consistency and forcing his defender to play up on him further and further out behind the arc.

Feb. 4, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Jeffery Taylor (44) shoots over Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It’s getting harder and harder for Bobcats fans to find positives as the loss total begins to climb higher and higher.

Here at Roberto Gato, we’ve tried focusing on as many positives as we can; Kemba Walker’s breakout sophomore campaign, Jeff Adrien’s welcomed contributions since being called up from the D-League, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeffrey Taylor with strong showings in their rookie seasons.

Yet there is one positive that hasn’t been mentioned which usually requires a bit of reading between the lines to discover.

The Bobcats currently have a .234 winning percentage, which is well over double the .106 winning percentage the team posted last year; however, this number doesn’t surprise  as much as another obscure number that’s continued to impress me throughout this season.

The Bobcats have lost 36 games so far this season (wait for it), and in those 36 losses, the Cats have dropped 11 of those games by 10 points or less to “playoff” teams.  Obscure?  Yes, indeed.  Drawn out?  You betcha.  Finding the silver lining in the midst of a third straight losing season?  Priceless.

Charlotte struggled mightily last season, losing a total of 59 games en route to setting the NBA’s record for winning percentage futility.  Many of those losses were blowouts, as Charlotte seemingly forgot how to score on most nights.

There were, however, some nights that the young Cats showed plenty of promise.  Throughout last year’s lockout shortened season, aside from the Bobcats’ seven wins, Charlotte lost against playoff teams by 10 points or less a total of 12 times.  Had Charlotte been able to win just a few more possessions in those games, the ’11-’12 Bobcats might not be remembered now as the worst team in NBA history, possibly earning themselves a few more wins and avoiding just a few more jokes.  Also, these “close games” showed two things: just how often Charlotte was losing by extremely large deficits, and that Charlotte could -on a good night -hang with the big boys in the league.

This season, Charlotte has already improved in the win-loss column alone.  There’s mathmatically no way that the Bobcats will perform as badly as last season (11 wins out of 82 games =.134 winning percentage), and they’ll continue to win games in which they come out firing on the defensive side of the ball and actually get the ball in the basket.  Even more impressive, though, is that 11 of the teams 36 losses have been by 10 points or less to playoff caliber teams.

Yet playoff caliber teams aren’t defined by a team with more wins than the Bobcats; playoff caliber teams are defined as teams that would be fighting in the postseason for the Larry O’Brien Trophy if the season ended today.

While the losses still aren’t very comforting, the close losses are showing Charlotte’s much improved ability to remain competitive in games for longer, and that this years team has much more talent (and even greater potential) than last years squad.  The Cats are, as apparent by last night’s close loss to Miami, refusing to quit down the stretch which is a great sight to see; by playing a full 48, Charlotte will continue to prepare themselves for the future and possibly steal a couple games from star-studded teams in the league, which in turn will help them to continue to gain confidence going forward.

After losing 27 of their last 31 games, it’s hard to seperate the good from the bad with this young Bobcats team.  Yet it seems as though they’re continuing to move in the right direction, no matter what their record is.

Kemba: Aaaaaawe snap! We gotta play EACH OTHER?
MKG: It ain’t no thang my man.
Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not much of a surprise, but the Charlotte Bobcats have two players that will compete in the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. Kemba Walker will suit up for the sophomores, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will play with his fellow rookies.

Other highlights from the roster announcement include Kyrie Irving, Chandler Parsons and Klay Thompson for the sophomores, and Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal for the sophomores.

Naturally, the question is how do those players stack up against their fellow “rising stars”?

In case you’re not a frequenter here at Roberto Gato, I’ll fill you in on the fact that we love Kemba Walker and think he’s the greatest thing since the invention of modern plumbing.

We are a realistic lot, though.

The cream of the crop in this game is Kyrie Irving.

Then, though, a very compelling argument can be made the Walker is the next best player on either roster.

PER 36 minutes, Kemba Walker is scoring the most points, dishing the second most assists and grabbing the most steals out of the players considered by most to be the best in the game (Lillard, Davis, Chandler Parsons, Thompson, Nikola Vucevic and Walker).

As for Kidd-Gilchrist, he stacks up well against his fellow first years.

Amongst the bigger name players on the rookie roster (Andre Drummond, Lillard, Davis, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes and MKG) he’s fifth in scoring, third in rebounds, third in assists, third in blocks and third in steals per 36 minutes.

Expect Walker and MKG to show out in this game.

They clearly have the potential to.

Jan 18, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) drives between Orlando Magic shooting guard Arron Afflalo (4) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the fourth quarter at Amway Center. Charlotte defeated Orlando 106-100. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Before you gawk at that headline, there really is a case to be made for Kemba Walker in regards to a spot on the Eastern Conference’s roster in the 2013 NBA All Star game.

Amongst backcourt players in the Eastern Conference (this year’s All Star Game format is backcourt and frontcourt players, instead of guards, forwards and centers) Walker is sixth in scoring, 11th in assists (20th in assist-to-turnover ratio, but better than almost every possible All Star guard except Rajon Rondo and Jose Calderon) and second in steals.

The list of probable Eastern backcourt reserves looks like this:

Jrue Holiday
Kyrie Irving
Deron Williams
Brandon Jennings
J.R. Smith
Jose Calderon (yes, really)

Out of those players, Walker is scoring the fourth most points, dishing out the fourth most assists, grabbing the second most steals, has the third best assist to turnover ratio, and, for what it’s worth he’s done all that while playing on one of the worst teams in the NBA.

I’m not saying the Charlotte Bobcats are dragging his numbers down, but Kyrie Irving is the only other player on that list who plays for a really bad team.

It’s highly unlikely that Walker plays in the All Star game. Actually, the probability of that happening is zero.

He will almost undoubtedly be showcased in the Rookie/Sophomore challenge game, and he’s arguably the best player that will be in that game.

If Kyrie Irving makes the All Star game and doesn’t participate, there’s really no debate when you look at all the stats, he would be the best player in the game (with all due respect to Damian Lillard).

Jan 19, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) shoots free throws during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Kings defeated the Bobcats 97-93. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Kemba Walker scored a career high 35 points and the Charlotte Bobcats held the Houston Rockets to just 39 percent from the floor, but in the end, James Harden’s TWENTY-ONE FREE-THROWS were to much for Charlotte to overcome.

The Rockets won the game 100-94, even though the ‘Cats held leads as big as 12, were a +3 in turnovers and out-shot Houston in every category.

Walker got to the line for just six free-throws, but still outplayed Harden, hitting six of his seven threes and shooting 57 percent from the floor. Harden scored 29 points on a dreadful five-of-20 from the floor. Again, the TWENTY-ONE FREE-THROWS (just three less than the entire Bobcats’ team shot) saved his day.

Ramon Sessions and Hakim Warrick were the only other ‘Cats to reach double figures in scoring against Houston, and Sessions and Bismack Biyombo were the only Charlotte players to grab more than four boards (Sessions had eight, Biyombo had nine). Biyombo also added an impressive seven blocks to his stat line while scoring just two points on five shots.

For the first time in a while, Tyrus Thomas found his way on to the floor, and he took nine minutes away from Jeff Adrien. In those nine minutes, Thomas grabbed two boards, had one assist, and committed a foul. In his 14 minutes, Adrien missed all three of his shots, but scored two points to go along with two boards and a block.

Charlotte lost the rebounding battle to Houston 47-40, and I’m not saying giving all of Thomas’s nine minutes to Adrien would’ve helped that cause, I’m just saying.

Did I mention James Harden took TWENTY-ONE FREE-THROWS today?

Jan 6, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

After averaging 18 points and six assists through the end of December, Kemba Walker is now doing slightly worse in those categories with 17.6 points and 5.9 assists per game.

That isn’t all that surprising when you learn he’s averaging just 30 minutes per game in January, though.

Yes, the best player on Charlotte’s roster is averaging five minutes per game below his season average this month.

Why?

Well, first, there could be a statistical reason.

After shooting 46 percent in December, Walker is shooting 43 percent in January. He’s also shooting very poorly from behind the arc, and relatively poorly from the free-throw line at just 60 percent this month.

He’s not turning the ball over at an abnormal rate though (2.5 per game in Jan.), and he’s actually rebounding better this month than he has all season (3.5 boards per game).

So why is Walker not getting the playing time he should?

I have absolutely no sources to back this up, and I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that I can’t think of another reason not to play Walker well over 30 minutes a game, but maybe he got into it with coach, Mike Dunlap, and Dunlap decided to send him a message in a loss to Cleveland, when Walker played just 24 minutes (none in the fourth quarter) despite shooting 50 percent and dishing out five assists in that game (In that same game Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon did play well enough to keep the Bobcats in it ’till the end).

Remember this Charlotte Observer story from early in the season discussing the tendency for Walker and Dunlap to be “frank” with one another?

Maybe something finally blew up the wrong way between the two.

Then again, maybe not. Dunlap apparently thinks Walker is headed to Chris-Paul-like levels:

“I’ve asked Kemba, `What do you think of Chris Paul’s game?’ And obviously Kemba tells me he has a lot of respect for him,” Dunlap said. “I’ve said to Kemba, `Well, that’s where you’re headed. That’s who you are in this league.”’

Hopefully I’m just reaching here. Maybe this drop in playing time is just a blip on the radar and nothing more than an oversight on the part of Dunlap.

Then again, if it is an oversight on his part, that’s not a good sign, either.