Kemba Walker to have knee surgery Wednesday
Kemba Walker will be having knee surgery tomorrow to fix a knee cyst that has evidently been there since Walker was in high school according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The cyst has contributed to inflammation in his left knee and was the reason that Walker missed the slugfest of the Knicks game. Walker could miss six weeks or more in recovering from this surgery.
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Coach Steve Clifford had nothing but nice things to say when asked about it. As far as the team’s future is concerned, Clifford made it sound pretty black and white. He said, “But if we continue to defend, rebound as we have, not turn the ball over and improve our pace of play, to me we have more than enough to keep playing well.”
Sounds easy enough, right? Kemba’s exit comes as Al Jefferson is getting back to full strength. That is a good sign for team hunting for offense. Brian Roberts will void at point guard while Walker is out.
The Hornets are also busy in trade talks, so an extra point guard might be gleaned from those. However such a deal would look much different than the proposed Joe Johnson deal that is sitting on the table right now.
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The Hornets have built some positive momentum and rode a weaker stretch of the schedule to a 19-26 record and the eighth seed in the playoffs with the Nets just behind and the Heat just ahead. To keep that up without Walker will be a struggle.
To remind of what the Hornets will be missing, Kemba Walker averaged 18.8 points a game and five assists a game. During the stretch that Jefferson was out, Walker almost averaged thirty a night for a four game stretch. It really would be nice for the Hornets to ever catch a break this season. Other than the All Star Break.