Official John Wall Appreciation Thread 2.0

[nate33]

I'm very impressed with this run by Wall. That's 7 games in a row where he has been either sensational or at least pretty good. The worst dud of the group was the outing in Phoenix when he 19 points and 8 assists (with 5 turnovers) on 50% shooting in a road win. If that's a "bad" game for the new Wall, then I'm extremely encouraged.

Wall has definitely removed any thoughts of trading him from my mind. What I was hoping for was to see tangible improvement this year, and we clearly have it. Wall is definitely keeping the door open for a max contract as well. If you put a gun to my head right now and made me make a decision on extending him at this moment, I would say no, wait a year and decide then. But I might reconsider by the end of the season if he keeps this pace up. Like others have said, he really might have turned the corner and jumped from "average player" to "superstar", leapfrogging "good starter" in the process.

[Induveca]

24 and 16, 1 turnover....and most importantly he seems to know when to use his speed now. Scary box score.

That being said.....I've seen Seraphin, Blatche, Courtney Alexander, Kwame Brown etc have great 10 game stretches this time of the year. Wall is far far ahead of them, but I still need to see more to justify a max contract.

If he keeps up this run to close out the last 14 games of the season I'm fine with a max contract. Has to be for more than 11% of the season.

That would give him around 40% of games played this year where he's been at an all-star level. Considering his lingering injury it's very impressive.

I'd also make damn sure I had multiple MRIs performed on his knees from 3-4 leading doctors around the world before signing the deal.

[GhostsOfGil]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq99aT-Iz8c[/youtube]







Look at that elevation

[sisibilio]

You can't even make up your mind what you are looking for. First you say they are the top 16 pgs and then you turn around and say you are looking for comps for Wall. So which is it?

What is it? The Zards have a big, ultra-athletic player at the most important position on the court who is improving in both on-court skills and leadership. A young player who, if he learns to shoot, may become the best all around PG in the game. I'm going to do all I kind to keep that guy around.

I'm not saying Wall is worth the max, but I'm not about to base his value to my team and franchise on what other PGs, like Curry and Lawson, are getting paid.

First of all when did the PG position become the most important position on the court? I must have missed the memo on that.

Secondly, that is how market pricing works, supply and demand. It makes no sense to pay a guy more than what similarly (or more) productive players get paid if you don't have to. If he isn't willing to accept the market rate then he can try to prove he is worth more next season.

The only reason Curry is not making the max, or close to it, is the concern about his ankles, and Wall is exponentially more impactful than Lawson when his shot is falling at a decent rate.
If you don't give him the max some other team will.

[tontoz]

[The only reason Curry is not making the max, or close to it, is the concern about his ankles,

How do you know that? Were you there for negotiations?

FYI Wall has missed 46 games since he was drafted. Curry missed 50 in his first 3 years.

and Wall is exponentially more impactful than Lawson when his shot is falling at a decent rate.

Based on what? And the sample size of Wall hitting jumpers at a decent rate is very small.

FYI Lawson starts on a team that has won 15 straight games.

If you don't give him the max some other team will

Can you tell me next week's lottery numbers as well?

If the Bulls were willing to play hardball with Jordan and Pippen with their contracts i don't see why the Wizards can't do it. Negotiating isn't about being pals it is about getting the best deal possible.

[hands11]

If he can patent that move, that's the kind of shot that you can build a career on.

That's Kobeish. That's a Dirk move.

[miller31time]

After last night's performance, Wall is now averaging the following per-36 numbers....

18.3 points
8.9 assists
4.1 rebounds
1.6 steals
0.9 blocks
4.1 turnovers

PER = 19.1
eFG% = 45.5%
TS% = 52.1%
FG% = 44.7%
FT% = 82.6%

(Bold -- career high)

[DCZards]

Better players make you a better team. Wall is becoming a better player, which makes us a better team. "Better players" are players who produce better numbers.

Players often get better and go from average to good or great-- and put up better numbers -- because of their work ethic and desire to win. So, yes, those things do count for something. They are attributes worth valuing.

[gesa2]

If he can patent that move, that's the kind of shot that you can build a career on.

That's Kobeish. That's a Dirk move.

It was a sweet move, really fun to watch. But if he used it a lot, he'd want to clean it up a bit. He had an exaggerated motion getting from the crossover to his shot, and he faded away.

[orangeparka]

I was high on Wall in his rookie season, but was really disappointed with how he developed. Nice to see him doing well.

And good highlights, though I gotta say, I'm not sure it'll last. The Lakers defense was just putrid on those pick n pops, and Kobe giving all them wide open threes. Also, not too sure about Wall's offensive efficiency yet. He shot a good percentage, but almost all his makes we're these semi-tough jumpers that I'm not convinced he's consistently developed yet.

I always like seeing a player's misses for more context. I hate how highlights never include them though.

[montestewart]

^
A couple of Wall's misses were rushed but not horrible shots that resulted from an active Lakers defense preventing shooters from rotating to open spots, denying Wall a decent passing or driving lane toward the basket, and closing in on him. Another thing about highlights: they tend to make defenses look worse than they are. When the defense isn't giving much, an improved shot will come in really handy for Wall.

[tontoz]

One thing Wall seems to do more often than most pgs is make skip passes to 3 point shooters. They get a lot of good 3 point looks from those cross court passes and not many of them seem to turn into turnovers.

[nate33]

One thing Wall seems to do more often than most pgs is make skip passes to 3 point shooters. They get a lot of good 3 point looks from those cross court passes and not many of them seem to turn into turnovers.

I think his height helps him on this. He is able to throw that pass over his own defender without as much arc. The ball gets to the corner shooter faster, avoiding the turnover and giving him time to get the shot off.

[payitforward]

Better players make you a better team. Wall is becoming a better player, which makes us a better team. "Better players" are players who produce better numbers.

Players often get better and go from average to good or great-- and put up better numbers -- because of their work ethic and desire to win. So, yes, those things do count for something. They are attributes worth valuing.

Sure, why not? They can count for something because they can lead to better numbers. They do count for something to the degree that they do lead to better numbers.

There's a long list of guys w/ tremendous desire and work ethic who just aren't good enough to play in the NBA, let alone to excel in the league.

[Induveca]

Better players make you a better team. Wall is becoming a better player, which makes us a better team. "Better players" are players who produce better numbers.

Players often get better and go from average to good or great-- and put up better numbers -- because of their work ethic and desire to win. So, yes, those things do count for something. They are attributes worth valuing.

Sure, why not? They can count for something because they can lead to better numbers. They do count for something to the degree that they do lead to better numbers.

There's a long list of guys w/ tremendous desire and work ethic who just aren't good enough to play in the NBA, let alone to excel in the league.

When an argument becomes centered around a variable's value, with that value derived from individualized human character........the only certainty is there is no correct answer.

This argument provides analysts and scouts their profession. Only way to provide a defensible value to something like "hustle" and "desire" is visual analysis of a body of work. Even then others will disagree.

[DCZards]

There's a long list of guys w/ tremendous desire and work ethic who just aren't good enough to play in the NBA, let alone to excel in the league.

We're not talking about the value of a long list of guys. We're talking about Wall's value. You combine a good work ethic and a desire to win with his physical tools and it's John Wow.

[Jimmy Recard]

One thing Wall seems to do more often than most pgs is make skip passes to 3 point shooters. They get a lot of good 3 point looks from those cross court passes and not many of them seem to turn into turnovers.

I've been talking about this a lot lately. I might be biased, but i don't there's another player in the league - apart from LeBron - that is better at reading when the weak side defender is about to collapse or rotate, and then making such a precise skip pass to the corner shooter. It's been beautiful to watch. Like Nate said, i think his size definitely contributes, but it also shows you his instinct and his potential as a playmaker.

[MrBigShot]

Wall has mad talent. He's a real PG, has terrific size and athleticism but his jumper and pace need work...he's kind of like the opposite of Kyrie Irving, who is all skill with the exception of his great quickness and is more of a scorer than playmaker as of now.

What is the consensus on this board about him and the max deal he's pursuing? Does anyone think he is/will be worth it during the contract?

[Soca]

Curry was abusing Wall tonight, that was brutal.

[B-easy]

Curry was abusing Wall tonight, that was brutal.

I think temple was on him more than wall. I saw wall on klay Thompson a lot.

Any way, wall was getting hot before he got that second tech. Hopefully that ejection does not slow down wall, who has been great this month.