The last time the Utah Jazz played against Kemba Walker in Charlotte, the Hornets guard proceeded to light Utah up for 52 points.
Walker is good. Dynamic with the ball, a load to handle in space, and is one of the premier scoring point guards in the NBA when he's on his game.
But is he THAT good? Last January, at the Spectrum Center, he certainly was.
So Wednesday night's matchup between the Jazz and the Hornets may very well come down to how well Utah handles Walker. He's going to get his points, most know that. But last year, he took over the game. And if the Jazz want to have a chance at winning, allowing Walker to take over the game is exactly what can't happen.
"We have a different team this year," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We have to play better. Obviously, when you have a player like Kemba who gets in a groove like that, it can be hard. We have to figure out a way to make it harder for him, because he's capable of doing that at any point. We have tremendous respect for him as a player."
With Walker, the Jazz are worried about how they play him when he's in pick and roll, and the difficult balancing act he forces on defenses. Some guards are good breaking their opponents down one-on-one. Some are good using screens, getting into the lane and wreaking havoc.
Walker is good at both. And he's got a horde of shooters for teammates, which gives him the needed space to do his thing. The Jazz know they are in for a challenge in defending Walker tonight. Much like Damian Lillard — who scored 39 on the Jazz earlier in the season — Walker is capable of carrying his team offensively.
"They have a lot of guys who can shoot, an Kemba's so good at playing in space," Utah small forward Gordon Hayward said. "They have versatile big men, and Kemba is so quick and shifty. He's good at setting himself and others up. He's difficult to defend one-on-one. They have a lot of weapons."
STATUS UPDATE
Jazz point guard George Hill remains questionable for Wednesday night with a thumb he sprained against the New York Knicks. While Hill didn't participate in Wednesday morning's shootaround, he did go through ball-handling drills afterwards. If he can't play, Shelvin Mack is expected to garner his second consecutive start, with Dante Exum playing major minutes in a backup role.
For Charlotte, starting center Roy Hibbert is out for Wednesday night. That means Cody Zeller will spend a lot of his time at center, with former Jazz veteran Marvin Williams playing at power forward.
The Hornets are 5-1 on the season, and are currently second in the Eastern Conference. This is their best start in franchise history.
— Tony Jones