Wizards’ John Wall says he was ‘kind of the same’ in his second season
John McDonnell/The Washington Post - John Wall, the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick, made just 27.6 percent of his shots beyond three feet this season.
Coach Randy Wittman said Wall “made great strides” in game-management the final two months of the season and no longer had to look over to the bench to call the right plays to exploit the defense. “That’s huge in being a top-caliber point guard,” Wittman said, adding that Wall improved in controlling tempo as well. “How many times did we see him crash and burn going too far when there was nowhere to go? We hardly saw that at all, coming down the stretch. He’s got a ways to go to become the player I think he’s going to be capable of being. If he’s going to be an elite player in this league, he’s going to have to put in a hard summer.”
No proper preparation
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Wall recently said that he didn’t prepare properly for his second season, participating in too many charity exhibition games because of uncertainty with the lockout. He said he is “cool on that” this summer and will instead work on improving his shooting as he trains in Los Angeles and Washington.
Teams managed to neutralize his speed in the half court by staying back and daring him to beat them with his jumper, which he had little confidence in and took reluctantly. Wall made 61.9 percent of his shots inside three feet (237 for 383), but he struggled to connect from everywhere else. He shot just 27.6 percent (141 for 511) from three feet and beyond and Thorpe said his three-point shot “fell off the face of the earth.” He missed 39 of his 42 attempts from long distance; his 7.1 percent accuracy ranks as worst among any player to make a three-pointer this season.
“For two years, he’s regarded league-wide as a talented player with a couple of exceptional physical attributes, his speed in particular. But he seems to be a little stubborn in adjusting to the NBA game,” said an Eastern Conference advance scout, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not at liberty to make comments on behalf of his team. “You get the sense on the whole, he’s not doing a lot of thinking the game yet. He’s kind of run into a little bit of roadblock as far as understanding why what he’s doing isn’t good enough yet. I do feel there is a lot more that’s still there.”
Wall has already shown plenty. Only Oscar Robertson, Damon Stoudamire, Tim Hardaway, Phil Ford and Chris Paul needed fewer games to score at least 2,000 points and hand out 1,000 assists, which Wall accomplished in 124 games. Since steals became a stat in 1970, Wall became the fastest player in NBA history to have 2,200 points, 1,000 assists, 600 rebounds, 200 steals and 90 blocks (134 games).
Wall was also incredibly durable this season, playing all 66 games and finishing fifth in the league in minutes played. Golden State Warriors Coach Mark Jackson, who ranks third all-time in assists, believes Wall is on the right track.
“Truthfully, he’s far ahead from these other guards, because you can see the point guard in him. He knows how to run a team. I think he’s a heck of a player and [is] going to be special.”
