Will this be John Walls breakout year?

[Tave]

I dunno

wouldn't you say MJ came in as a great athlete with less than stellar
fundamentals (which did get much better throughout his career)?

No.

[dobrojim]

MJ's jumper was not exactly a work of art as a rookie

but I'll readily concede that it was definitely better than Wall's.

But I stand by my larger point, especially in this modern age of
1 and done college players, their fundamentals are not that consistently
good right away.

[peja drobnjak]

20/8/5 and playoffs, callin it

[BrooklynBulls]

I dunno

wouldn't you say MJ came in as a great athlete with less than stellar
fundamentals (which did get much better throughout his career)?

Jordan came in putting up 28/6/6. To say his fundamentals were weak just like Wall's is a ridiculous concept. Jordan did not have a long range jumper. But he had a 1 dribble pullup, he had a turnaround, he had a spot up, he had an array of post moves. He just didn't have it far past 15 feet.

[Brenice]

Freshman Jordan beat Georgetown with a jumpshot much better than Wall's.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Hard to say if this will be his breakout year. Could be next year, could be never.

Easy to say he mostly needs to fix his jumper. But if/when he fixes that, most of his
other flaws or below avg areas will fade into the background of brightness of the
rest of his game. Best case, he evolves into a cross between GPayton and AI.
Anybody that can average about 8 assists with the team he had has got at least some game.
Off the top of my head, I can't come up with worst case comparison not because
that isn't possible, just can't think of one, maybe because those kinds of players
are easily forgotten.

As a Wizards fan, my hope is that improved defense will lead to even more
fast break opportunities which will obviously pad his offense efficiency if only
incrementally. We understand this does need definite improvement.

Having better/smarter teammates and an actual offseason of working with
NBA level coaching should help.

BTW Wittman was mentioned somewhere in this thread as less than an
encouraging asset towards Wall's development. A year ago I would have
agreed completely. Now I'm not nearly so sure. Lets see how things are
going by around the AS break and into March for Wall and the Wizards.

One last comment - towards the end of the season Wittman had Wall initiate
the offense from WAY outside in the half court. Seemed a bit screwy but
it actually worked in that it took better advantage of Wall's best asset, speed
(as opposed to quickness). They used this briefly at the end of the season so
all the provisos re sample size and opposing talent need to be conceded. With
the floor spread with actual shooters, it worked reasonably well.

Excellent observations, jim.

Wall is very fast but he's not the quickest. Usain Bolt coming out of the blocks isn't the quickest. Wall doesn't have the quick burst that a healthy Derrick Rose does. However, nobody, including Westbrook is going to beat Wall full court once he's at full speed. As he gets room to manuever Wall becomes ridiculously athletic. dobrojim mentioned one way Coach Wittman can maximize one of Wall's strength.

This season Wall's superior passing will be rewarded with dunks by Nene; and also by Ariza, Beal, Vesely, Seraphin, Booker, and perhaps Okafor. The Wizard defense will be dramatically better, and that can only make Wall better.

The most encouraging thing is Wall is bigger and stronger after this summer. He has worked with shooting coaches. I said he's not superstar, but I think he can prove me wrong. Wall can become a grinder who keeps getting better. jim compared him to Payton and Iverson. I hope Wall does like Chauncey Billups, whose success was gradual. Billups eventually became a near league MVP on a championship team. Wall, if he starts punishing smaller guards and if his shot becomes at least respectable, can do like Chauncey and become the focal point of a good team.