It was a rough result for Zalgiris Kaunas but there was promise all the same. Lonnie Walker IV, who has endured a baptism of fire in Euroleague, appears to be figuring it out. Emmet Ryan on how Walker is finding how best to contribute on the basketball court
There was a great start. Then a long time sitting. This led to a loss of rhythm. Then he sort of found it again. That summed up the night for Lonnie Walker IV as Zalgiris Kaunas fell at home to Fenerbahce in Euroleague. Still, for a guy learning this style of basketball, there’s reason to be cheerful.
There’s the guy they signed
Lonnie Walker IV was easily the most hyped in-season signing of the current Euroleague campaign. Granted, it’s not like there was much competition for that honour. Still, he was an obvious upgrade in shooting for a team that needed it. Zalgiris Kaunas had basically what it needed in every other department. Walker was the big upgrade for their biggest hole.
In the first quarter in Kaunas on Friday night, we saw why. With 9 points, including making both of his threes, Walker was smooth as silk. He was the upgrade this side needed. It was exactly the type of early individual explosion this side lacked.
It was also more than necessary. After not exactly setting the world alight in his first two Euroleague outings, Walker was showing that he could adjust to this style of basketball. Then he sat and the record slipped off the needle.
Players sit, it happens
The decision by Andrea Trinchieri to sit Lonnie Walker IV when he did can be criticised in hindsight. It really shouldn’t be. The Zalgiris Kaunas coach was going to have to take Walker out at some stage in the early going against Fenerbahce. That he did so while the shooter was beginning to get on a heater is irrelevant in the 40 minute discussion.
Now, he probably sat a little longer than was ideal but Trinchieri had bigger things to worry about. Fenerbahce were offensively dominant in the second frame and Walker wasn’t signed for his work on D. No, the timing was merely unfortunate and not critical to the end result.
The real unfortunate aspect was that Walker didn’t mentally get himself back where he was in that opening groove. His end performance was still fine but not quite the level needed to raise the whole ship. Walker can’t be a Keenan Evans type of player, it’s not how he balls. His style is still really effective and can deliver the same kind of production. It’s just going to come in a different way.
BallinEurope is ramping up its YouTube game this season. Subscribe to our channel now for player exclusives, analysis videos, and much more.
Good grief the rest of the Zalgiris shooting
Zalgiris Kaunas fans have been amongst the loudest in saying the team lacks shooting. Lonnie Walker IV was brought in entirely because of the obvious improvement he’d bring. Really, though, it took his arrival to put the issues elsewhere in full context.
Sylvain Francisco, who is primarily a creator, felt for most of this game like the only man in green I’d trust to shoot. As a team, Zalgiris were 37 per cent on the inside and shot only 25 per cent from deep. This was ghastly, yet they still nearly beat Fenerbahce, the best road team in Euroleague.
Home court focus is the obvious approach from Zalgiris this season, it’s worked ok for them. FC Bayern’s even trying the same thing. Still, there’s only so much that having that atmosphere can do to compensate for some awful offensive basketball.
BallinEurope has a book, a real life actual book called I Like it Loud, and you can buy it on Amazon now. It’s here as a book and here in Kindle form.
But Lonnie’s got this
The final line for Lonnie Walker IV against Fenerbahce won’t blow anyone’s mind. He went 6 of 14 overall from the field, accounting for 19 points and 4 steals in the process. Still, it was his confidence in being the man that wanted to shoot that helped a lot out there.
Walker doesn’t need to carry the ball. For a guy that shoots so much, he really doesn’t need a lot of touches. This was visibly far better than his outings in the games against FC Bayern and Paris Basketball.
At the same time, Zalgiris has now lost three straight in Euroleague. That simply won’t do. Walker was signed to help them win more basketball games, not just have better shooting stats. The sooner he finds the way to keep his rhythm and work more guys into the offence, just by being there, the quicker those Ws will come. Zalgiris fans should take solace in the turnaround of Evan Fournier for Olympiacos. I wrote this about him a few weeks ago. Since then, he’s averaging 20 a night.
Leave a Reply