With less than 20 seconds left, down 85-82 to the Orlando Magic, Dywane Wade brought the ball up the court. Next to him was Henry Walker, who just hit a 3-pointer out of an inbounds play. The man formerly known as Bill Walker had just signed a 10-day contract and was playing in his third game with the Miami Heat.
Wade sprinted toward the top of the key where a screen set by Luol Deng was waiting for him. Wade went left, as he’s wont to do, and passed the ball to Walker. The defense fought over the screen set by Wade and Walker gave the ball back up to the All Star shooting guard. The ball went to Dragic, Deng, to Wade and back to Walker. All together six passes before Walker launched a 3-pointer and tied the game with four seconds left.
The Heat won in overtime and, after the game, Walker talked about how he “missed a lot of shots, but stayed in there.” “I ain’t got nothing to lose. On a stage like this, you can’t be scared, man.”
He did miss a lot of shots. His first seven before making two in the final seconds of the game. But that’s just how he plays. He has unwavering confidence in his jumper regardless of the quality of the look. He’s got a quick release and likes to shoot before the break.
Since joining the Heat, Walker has let it fly. According to NBA statistics, he is near the top of league in catch-and-shoot attempts per game.
Looking at that list, Walker’s name is included along with pick-and-pop gods Chris Bosh, Serge Ibaka and LaMarcus Aldridge; uber shooters Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, JJ Redick and Dirk Nowitzki and guys who have become central points on the offense like Kevin Martin and CJ Miles.
On this list, Walker has the lowest shooting percentages. He’s also the guy who probably doesn’t belong. Ask an NBA fan about this list, and they can make a case for every player on here except Walker.
Walker’s 6.4 catch-and-shoot attempts from beyond the arc per game is tops in the NBA. However, his percentages are low and lend to a conclusion that, maybe, Walker shouldn’t be shooting so much.
But Walker doesn’t care, and the Heat need him to keep shooting. Miami has struggled with shot creation, ball movement, spacing and 3-point shooting at varying points of the season. Walker is a guy who helps all of those areas. For better or for worse, Walker should just keep on shooting.