Official John Wall Appreciation Thread 2.0

[GhostsOfGil]

He doesn't have to stay in front -- just force them to the sidelines, into the teeth of our frontcourt d.

But, Wall has trouble with both. With quicker guards, there are times where they just blow by him. Sometimes he looks like the second coming of Gary Payton but there have been a few games where he consistently, cannot contain the dribble penetration (Philly game is the one im thinking of specifically).

[hands11]

That MIL game from Wall was a beautiful thing.

I can live with some of the turnovers. 2 were late in the game when he is was show boating a little by trying to make really complicated dribbling moves. They weren't needed but they didn't hurt.

But what he did that I was calling for and loved to see was .. he took no outside shots. He kept his dribble alive more and he only shot floaters and at the rim baskets. 10 assists. 14 pts.

5-6 shooting. 6 FTA and made 4 after missing his first 2. Wall has been solid at the line this year.

Not sure how to calculate eff on my own but I would like to see his rating for that game.

Very nice. Keep it up John. Very Rondo type of game which is exactly what you should be doing.

[Nivek]

Even with the 5-6 shooting, Wall's ortg was just 103 because of the 7 turnovers.

[tontoz]

Some of these TOs have been really careless. I am wondering (or maybe hoping) that fatigue may be playing a role.

[B-easy]

I think its because he has poor handles, his dribble is way too high so he can be easily picked when driving in the half court.

I really think improving his handles (and therefore To's) is more important than his jumpshot.

[hands11]

Even with the 5-6 shooting, Wall's ortg was just 103 because of the 7 turnovers.

But what about eFT% and TS%

I should have been more specific when I said efficiency. I meant shooting efficiency.

[hands11]

I think its because he has poor handles, his dribble is way too high so he can be easily picked when driving in the half court.

I really think improving his handles (and therefore To's) is more important than his jumpshot.

I don't think he has poor handles at all but I do think you will see them improve. At least I do if he appears more games like he did that last one where he didn't shoot from outside.

Two TOs were down the stretch where like I said, he was show boating a little. Trying to burn time on the clock and feeling his oat a little.

Another Ellis just grabbed his left arm and spun him off balance.

So there are 3 of them off the top of my head.

He keep his dribble alive a lot more last night because he wasn't shooting the J. He made an insanely highly skilled move down the middle where he crossed through his legs in a crowed lane and then instantly went to the hoop. That was a insanely sweet move.

If Wall keep up this approach of not shooting nearly as many jumpers, I think you are going to see his ball handling skills on display and they are going to start to really shin. I can't remember a game where he tried to move the defense like that just by dribbling and moving around.

Give it a few games. I think we are going to see some from Wall with the ball in his hands.

I think he has figured out the way to national recognition is

1) Winning
2) Lots of assists and making the game easier for other. i.e. Making his teammates better.
3) Defense and break away highlights
4) Efficient scoring
5) Amazing handles where he moves the defense for scoring highlight by others.
6) Amazing handles that lead to drives for himself.

HE DOESN'T NEED AN OUTSIDE SHOT RIGHT NOW TO BE GREAT

[dangermouse]

What are his stats on shots from within say 12-14 feet? Basically the area inside or near-to the paint. This would exclude his jump shots from slightly further out (15+ feet).

His floater has been money this year. It feels like that is a whole new dimension he has added to his game now. Has he improved from that range?

[rockymac52]

What are his stats on shots from within say 12-14 feet? Basically the area inside or near-to the paint. This would exclude his jump shots from slightly further out (15+ feet).

His floater has been money this year. It feels like that is a whole new dimension he has added to his game now. Has he improved from that range?

The big change in Wall's shooting so far this season has been his improvement from 3-9 feet.

Obviously, it's a relatively small sample size, so don't overreact one way or the other.

2011: 30.5% from 3-9 ft
2012: 28.3% from 3-9 ft
2013: 45.5% from 3-9 ft

However, there's equally bad news for him this season from 10-15 feet. He went from 28%, to 32.1%, to now 17.6% this season.

Decide for yourself how much weight you want to put on this due to the sample size.

[Nivek]

Even with the 5-6 shooting, Wall's ortg was just 103 because of the 7 turnovers.

But what about eFT% and TS%

I should have been more specific when I said efficiency. I meant shooting efficiency.

I have no idea what eFT% is.

Wall's efg in that single game is .833 (same his FG% because there were no threes). His TS% was .810.

Turnovers are part of offensive efficiency, though. And they're a big problem with Wall. Even in this game where he made shots, he still had too many zero-point possessions.

[tontoz]

I hear that MDG has a really good EFT%.

[Nivek]

Up at the blog: a look at how the Wizards are better on offense with Wall.

Summary: teammates shoot slightly better and dramatically reduce turnovers.

Also: Offense could be far better still if Wall would improve his shooting and reduce his turnovers. He's committing 38% of the team's turnovers when he's in the game.

[nate33]

Up at the blog: a look at how the Wizards are better on offense with Wall.

Summary: teammates shoot slightly better and dramatically reduce turnovers.

Also: Offense could be far better still if Wall would improve his shooting and reduce his turnovers. He's committing 38% of the team's turnovers when he's in the game.

Great stuff, Nivek. It's a perfect summary of why Wall is so helpful, yet so frustrating.

Is it reasonable to expect a PG to dramatically reduce his turnover rate in his 4th season and beyond? Or is this the Wall we can expect to see for the rest of his career - a dynamic player but way too mistake-prone?

[Halcyon]

I found one split interesting, which were the quarter splits:

1st: 57.1 % (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=1)
2nd: 37.9% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=2)
3rd: 45.1% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=3)
4th: 37.3% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=4)

It seems like being out of shape may be affecting his shooting. For example, in the first quarter he's shooting at around 46.4% (13/28) on jumpers but come 4th quarter, he's shooting a horrendous 21.1% (8/38). This might be a sample size issue, but it'll be interesting to track if his 2nd and 4th quarter splits improve over the course of the season.

[miller31time]

I found one split interesting, which were the quarter splits:

1st: 57.1 % (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=1)
2nd: 37.9% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=2)
3rd: 45.1% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=3)
4th: 37.3% (http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... &quarter=4)

It seems like being out of shape may be affecting his shooting. For example, in the first quarter he's shooting at around 46.4% (13/28) on jumpers but come 4th quarter, he's shooting a horrendous 21.1% (8/38). This might be a sample size issue, but it'll be interesting to track if his 2nd and 4th quarter splits improve over the course of the season.

Nice find, Halcyon.

I also think rhythm has a lot to do with it. Take last game against Milwaukee for instance. Wall was having a fantastic game until he was benched near the end of the 3rd quarter. Wittman let him rot on the bench until about the 3-minute mark of the 4th. Hard for a player to sit for that long, then come in and be the same force he was earlier in the game.

[Nivek]

Up at the blog: a look at how the Wizards are better on offense with Wall.

Summary: teammates shoot slightly better and dramatically reduce turnovers.

Also: Offense could be far better still if Wall would improve his shooting and reduce his turnovers. He's committing 38% of the team's turnovers when he's in the game.

Great stuff, Nivek. It's a perfect summary of why Wall is so helpful, yet so frustrating.

Is it reasonable to expect a PG to dramatically reduce his turnover rate in his 4th season and beyond? Or is this the Wall we can expect to see for the rest of his career - a dynamic player but way too mistake-prone?

I'd want to do some research on this before answering definitively. Just eyeballing some of the "similar" players, it looks like a mixed bag. Most appear to reduce their turnovers as they gain experience, but the changes appear to be fairly small. It's also interesting that Wall's turnovers have risen each year of his career thus far.

[pancakes3]

I think the interest and analysis of Wall's jumper to be fascinating and worthwhile but at the same time think that he does not necessarily need to improve his jumper in order to improve overall. He can still cut down on his TO's and play more like Rondo, and to emulate the finishing and change-of-pace of Wade/Rose. The jumper would be great but I think secondary to decision making and "playmaking" (for lack of a better word).

He has great vision on the break, but I wish he had better vision in the half-court. I do think he's improving though. One play that stuck out was his cross-court to Beal for 3 on a drive. 2 years ago, he would have forced the issue, get caught too far under the rim, and then try to abort only to turn it over.

[tontoz]

The Rondo comparison doesn't really work because Rondo did improve his shot significantly and he was surrounded by 3 HOF players.

On a more sympathetic note there was a lockout last year and he was out hurt a long time this year which probably hurt his performance.

[hands11]

Even with the 5-6 shooting, Wall's ortg was just 103 because of the 7 turnovers.

But what about eFT% and TS%

I should have been more specific when I said efficiency. I meant shooting efficiency.

I have no idea what eFT% is.

Wall's efg in that single game is .833 (same his FG% because there were no threes). His TS% was .810.

Turnovers are part of offensive efficiency, though. And they're a big problem with Wall. Even in this game where he made shots, he still had too many zero-point possessions.

eFT is a type. eFG was what I was talking about which you figured out.

.833 eFG. I can live with a few move games like that.

[hands11]

Up at the blog: a look at how the Wizards are better on offense with Wall.

Summary: teammates shoot slightly better and dramatically reduce turnovers.

Also: Offense could be far better still if Wall would improve his shooting and reduce his turnovers. He's committing 38% of the team's turnovers when he's in the game.

Great stuff, Nivek. It's a perfect summary of why Wall is so helpful, yet so frustrating.

Is it reasonable to expect a PG to dramatically reduce his turnover rate in his 4th season and beyond? Or is this the Wall we can expect to see for the rest of his career - a dynamic player but way too mistake-prone?

I wouldn't be looking at his 4th season as much as the 2nd half of this one. That is the sample to compare against.