John Wall is the best PG in the East right now

[Upper Decker]

If Wall was a 2nd year player in college with no other top talent around him going against the little sisters of the poor I'm sure he'd dominate as well.

[tontoz]

The Wall shot that bugs the crap out of me is when he's open from 3pt range, but instead of taking the three, he dribbles in a step to attempt the long two.

SHOOT.

THE.

THREE.

Fortunately he hasn't been doing that as much this year. But he is still shooting long 2s off the dribble without anyone else touching the ball. He should be fined for those.

[Ruzious]

I think his shot selection is mostly fine. His jumper is just pathetically off right now, but you can't STOP taking those shots--it'll never get better that way.

I think he underrates his size and strength. He really should work on adding some muscle in the off-season in order to start punishing smaller guards in the way say, Harden does.

Yes he should STOP taking those long 2's. He should NEVER take them unless the shot clock is near zero.

See Nivek's post. Take the 3. Don't take the long 2. And the long 2's he's taking are generally off the dribble without particularly good balance. When the ball's passed to him, and he's open for a 3, take it. He's shown he can hit it. Do not dribble closer for a long 2. If he does dribble closer, take it to the basket and/or pass.

[Ruzious]

EDIT: This is in response to how Wall should play with respect to playing in the paint.

Or how Marcus Smart is doing in college right now. The 3's aside, he really punished Memphis inside. He was posting up, catching oops and playing off-ball super well. Whoever's picking him up is picking up a better Russell Westbrook.

Smart is a pleasure to watch playing basketball. What he doesn't have is the explosive leaping ability of Westbrook and Wall. What he does have is great strength and physical aggression - like Wade.

[pancakes3]

Wade is actually a very good comparison. Better than the point guard comparisons.

[SizzlinSimms]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/11/2 ... s-nba-2013

Two statements, each with a kernel of truth, each contradictory to the other:

John Wall is settling for jumpers too much.
John Wall must take jumpers with confidence when they're there, because otherwise, there's no way teams come out of their sagging defense to open up lanes to the basket.

This duality, Catch 22, whatever you want to call it has caused superstardom to elude Wall thus far in his four-year career.

Thought this was a good article.

[Nivek]

It's not a conundrum, it's actually pretty simple. There's zero reason for the opposing team to do anything but sag off Wall until he starts MAKING jumpers. If they're going to concede jump shots to him, he ought to be attempting 3pt shots. His percentage on 3pt attempts will be about the same as his percentage on long twos, but he gets 50% more points, which means a) his makes do more to punish the defense; and b) he can be a useful jump shooter even while shooting a fairly low overall percentage.

[tontoz]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/11/20/5124502/john-wall-timberwolves-wizards-nba-2013

Two statements, each with a kernel of truth, each contradictory to the other:

John Wall is settling for jumpers too much.
John Wall must take jumpers with confidence when they're there, because otherwise, there's no way teams come out of their sagging defense to open up lanes to the basket.

This duality, Catch 22, whatever you want to call it has caused superstardom to elude Wall thus far in his four-year career.

Thought this was a good article.

That is where i disagree. Nobody HAS to take a jumper (especially the long 2s his seems so fond of) unless the shot clock is about to go off.

[verbal8]

It's not a conundrum, it's actually pretty simple. There's zero reason for the opposing team to do anything but sag off Wall until he starts MAKING jumpers. If they're going to concede jump shots to him, he ought to be attempting 3pt shots. His percentage on 3pt attempts will be about the same as his percentage on long twos, but he gets 50% more points, which means a) his makes do more to punish the defense; and b) he can be a useful jump shooter even while shooting a fairly low overall percentage.

If he hits in the low 40s of those long 2s, which would probably be a decent percentage, most defenses will likely give him that shot all day. However he only has to hit in the low 30s of a only slightly more difficult shot to make the defense pay, and force them to play him on the 3 point line. Looking at his 3 point percentage and figuring it probably is influenced by desperation(shot clock or game clock) 3s, he probably doesn't have to get that much better with the 3 point shot.

[SizzlinSimms]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/11/20/5124502/john-wall-timberwolves-wizards-nba-2013

Two statements, each with a kernel of truth, each contradictory to the other:

John Wall is settling for jumpers too much.
John Wall must take jumpers with confidence when they're there, because otherwise, there's no way teams come out of their sagging defense to open up lanes to the basket.

This duality, Catch 22, whatever you want to call it has caused superstardom to elude Wall thus far in his four-year career.

Thought this was a good article.

That is where i disagree. Nobody HAS to take a jumper (especially the long 2s his seems so fond of) unless the shot clock is about to go off.

The author and Wall mention that in the article.

[pancakes3]

It's not a conundrum, it's actually pretty simple. There's zero reason for the opposing team to do anything but sag off Wall until he starts MAKING jumpers. If they're going to concede jump shots to him, he ought to be attempting 3pt shots. His percentage on 3pt attempts will be about the same as his percentage on long twos, but he gets 50% more points, which means a) his makes do more to punish the defense; and b) he can be a useful jump shooter even while shooting a fairly low overall percentage.

See also, Career, Jason Kidd's entire (specifically 2010 where JKidd's 3 point % was actually higher than his overall fg%).

[fishercob]

It's not a conundrum, it's actually pretty simple. There's zero reason for the opposing team to do anything but sag off Wall until he starts MAKING jumpers. If they're going to concede jump shots to him, he ought to be attempting 3pt shots. His percentage on 3pt attempts will be about the same as his percentage on long twos, but he gets 50% more points, which means a) his makes do more to punish the defense; and b) he can be a useful jump shooter even while shooting a fairly low overall percentage.

He should watch Rondo film too. Yes, he should shoot the three. But he should also watch how Rondo used the defense's sage to get a running start on drives to the rim -- much harder to stop without fouling. John can exploit all that space with his size, athleticism, and vision. He just needs to stop taking the bait on those long twos -- particularly early in the shot clock.

[Illmatic21]

It's not a conundrum, it's actually pretty simple. There's zero reason for the opposing team to do anything but sag off Wall until he starts MAKING jumpers. If they're going to concede jump shots to him, he ought to be attempting 3pt shots. His percentage on 3pt attempts will be about the same as his percentage on long twos, but he gets 50% more points, which means a) his makes do more to punish the defense; and b) he can be a useful jump shooter even while shooting a fairly low overall percentage.

He should watch Rondo film too. Yes, he should shoot the three. But he should also watch how Rondo used the defense's sage to get a running start on drives to the rim -- much harder to stop without fouling. John can exploit all that space with his size, athleticism, and vision. He just needs to stop taking the bait on those long twos -- particularly early in the shot clock.

James Harden is a master of this as well. When he was in OKC and his first year in Houston, there were statistical analyses done showing that he rarely EVER shot long twos. If a defender gives him space, he goes straight at them to close the space then uses a series of hesitation/misdirection moves to either blow past them or bait them into fouling him.

Even if the defense is playing off Wall, he should still be able to get to the basket at will. I've noticed that he has a tendency to just barrel into defenders, and that usually results in a turnover (either a charge or him losing the ball) which is what Randy alluded to in that BF article. What he has to do is use hesitation moves to get them leaning in one direction, then take off the other way.

This is stuff they teach in the Better Basketball DVDs. Wall just needs to have it brought to his attention somehow so he can work on it.

[Nivek]

Agreed fish. Gotta say that it does concern me to see Wall now in his 4th season still taking so many long 2s, still not shooting well, and still not using screens well. I'd like to see him improve all those aspects of his game. Those long 2s are there because the defense WANTS him shooting from there.

[JonathanJoseph]

Those long 2s are there because the defense WANTS him shooting from there.

Right. And that's why he should stop shooting them altogether. Wall is much, much more effective when creating for his teammates off the dribble. Wall is not a scorer. He is absolutely in the Kidd/Rondo mold, where taking jump shots is a last resort, not some goal. Neither of those players ever looked to pull up off the dribble or ever led their team in FGA. Wall should average about the same number of assists as FGA.

[hands11]

http://basketball.realgm.com/poll/230487/Who-is-your-favorite-player-on-the-Wizards-roster

[nate33]

Those long 2s are there because the defense WANTS him shooting from there.

Right. And that's why he should stop shooting them altogether. Wall is much, much more effective when creating for his teammates off the dribble. Wall is not a scorer. He is absolutely in the Kidd/Rondo mold, where taking jump shots is a last resort, not some goal. Neither of those players ever looked to pull up off the dribble or ever led their team in FGA. Wall should average about the same number of assists as FGA.

Wall was 1-11 on 2-pointers outside the lane against Cleveland.
He was 2-9 on 2-pointers outside the lane against Minnesota.

This has got to stop.

[Illmatic21]

Wall getting bashed on the GB for supposedly having "low bball IQ".. lol. Would respond but suspended from GB for saying a bad word.


By all accounts, Wall is a pretty intelligent basketball player. The only major problem with his game right now is that he's a poor jumpshooter. Teams purposely give him more wide open jumpers than any other PG other than maybe Rubio, which understandably complicates his decision-making process during games. As he improves his shooting ability, the game will naturally get easier for him.


What I want to know is.. If Wall has low bball IQ, what does that make a PG like Irving who has average court vision and plays like Iverson? But he isn't super athletic and scores a lot, so in the eyes of the masses that makes him a high IQ player

Or what about Lillard? He continues to take a lot of long jumpshots despite not being efficient. Or Westbrook? Would love to hear some of those poster's opinions on who out of the young PGs has a 'high IQ' since Wall is apparently an airhead. The only young point guard I'd clearly put above Wall in terms of offense/defensive IQ would be Rubio. People just look at Wall's superior athleticism and assume he doesn't understand the game.

[JonathanJoseph]

Wall getting bashed on the GB for supposedly having "low bball IQ".. lol. Would respond but suspended from GB for saying a bad word.


By all accounts, Wall is a pretty intelligent basketball player. The only major problem with his game right now is that he's a poor jumpshooter. Teams purposely give him more wide open jumpers than any other PG other than maybe Rubio, which understandably complicates his decision-making process during games. As he improves his shooting ability, the game will naturally get easier for him.


What I want to know is.. If Wall has low bball IQ, what does that make a PG like Irving who has average court vision and plays like Iverson? But he isn't super athletic and scores a lot, so in the eyes of the masses that makes him a high IQ player

Or what about Lillard? He continues to take a lot of long jumpshots despite not being efficient. Or Westbrook? Would love to hear some of those poster's opinions on who out of the young PGs has a 'high IQ' since Wall is apparently an airhead. The only young point guard I'd clearly put above Wall in terms of offense/defensive IQ would be Rubio. People just look at Wall's superior athleticism and assume he doesn't understand the game.

Wall is a low BB IQ player. He doesn't understand his own strengths and weaknesses and doesn't know what a good shot is, and those are troubling things.

Wall is might be the most physically gifted PG ever. If he had an average BB IQ, the Wizards would be winning far more games with him than they have to date.

[veji1]

Exactly, fans of the Wizards have to face it : So far, and until proven wrong, Wall has low BBIQ, that's the way it is. He hasn't learned to maximise his strengths and minimize his weaknesses, or rather he hasn't even shown that he is in the process of doing so...