Kemba Walker took the floor at Madison Square Garden in a home jersey for the first time on Tuesday night as the Knicks opened up their preseason slate, and the Bronx native was able to soak in the reality of his new surroundings all over again after signing with New York during the offseason.
"'Wow, I'm really back home,'" Walker said of his emotions heading into the arena. "Things just came full circle, just from where I started, from where everything started for me. It's a surreal feeling, but a great feeling. I'm really, really happy to be here."
Walker certainly made himself at home, as he's done so many times in his collegiate and professional career at The World's Most Famous Arena. Leading the Knicks' starting squad, Walker tallied 12 points in 21 minutes while shooting 5-for-10 from the field, and most importantly, looked like a natural fit alongside Evan Fournier and the rest of the Knicks' expected key contributors for the coming season.
"To make plays for each other, to space the floor, to cut, to play off the pass, make the right rim reads…when you play like that, the game becomes easier and you get rhythm."
"I thought Kemba and Evan were really good," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his top unit. "Julius [Randle] was Julius. RJ [Barrett] got going and our starters played really well."
The Knicks cruised to a 125-104 win over the Pacers behind Walker, who flashed a familiar chemistry with Fournier that the two briefly displayed in their time with the Celtics last season. Walker dished out five assists and helped keep the ball moving with the starting five, while the starters combined to commit just one turnover all night.
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"Coming in, setting the tone, making the right plays," Thibodeau said of Walker. "The game tells you what to do, and I think he reads the game extremely well. That veteran leadership, his shot making ability, he's very good in the pick-and-roll, he puts a lot of pressure on you. And he's unselfish."
Walker said he came out of the game feeling good in regards to his knee, which limited him significantly last season. It was the fiurst hurdle for the 31-year-old to clear, but in his first 20-plus minutes as a Knick, Walker looked like prime Walker, and the rest of the Knicks were better because of it.
"We really moved the basketball really well," Walker said. "Guys took shot when they were open, and if not, drove and made a play for the next guy. That's how it's supposed to be."
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