Official John Wall Appreciation Thread 2.0

[Sluggerface]

Just went back and read some posts earlier in this thread.. it's like night and day how much more pleased we've become with Wall in just the last one year.

And by contrast, personally I'm much more annoyed with Bradley Beal than I was this time a year ago.. in this very thread some Wiz fans were saying he was more important than Wall
Still so young though. Hopefully he works hard this summer and is able to take a 3rd year leap like John did

I'm excited about having both. I believe in them. I never thought Beal had the kind of upside and impact ability that Wall does. Wall is a truly dynamic athlete with the best raw skill set of pretty much any guard in the game now. And he's a gifted playmaker and leader that excels at making his team better.

But I still love Beal's potential. He's a future mid 20's per game scorer that does the bulk of his work off the ball, but who is also capable of finding teammates, rebounding, hustling and making the winning plays, etc. He's got the right personality, the intangibles of a winner and serious pro. And I think he's going to grow into a pretty brawny player capable of wearing opponents down physically and playing great D. We've got a while before he reaches his potential. And we're going through growing pains now. But he is going to be so good one day. He and Wall are going to be perennial All Stars.

Damian Lillard is way better than I expected, but I still think Beal ends up being the best overall perimeter player from the 2012 class. With what we've seen from Beal at ages 19 and 20, I think he's going to be the best SG in the NBA in as little as three or four years. I think there is a great chance we'll have the best PG and SG in the NBA at that point.

I think most NBA teams really take off once you have 3 guys that are exceptional on and off the ball (I think this is why EG drafted both Porter and Rice). We've seen shades of this this season with both John and Brad, but Brad still isn't there yet and the offense isn't constructed to take advantage of having Beal handle the ball. Ultimately I believe this team will turn around, Brad will improve, and John will go as this team goes.

We're only one piece away from being able to contend. Here's to hoping Bosh opts out.

[Illmatic21]

Just went back and read some posts earlier in this thread.. it's like night and day how much more pleased we've become with Wall in just the last one year.

And by contrast, personally I'm much more annoyed with Bradley Beal than I was this time a year ago.. in this very thread some Wiz fans were saying he was more important than Wall
Still so young though. Hopefully he works hard this summer and is able to take a 3rd year leap like John did

I'm excited about having both. I believe in them. I never thought Beal had the kind of upside and impact ability that Wall does. Wall is a truly dynamic athlete with the best raw skill set of pretty much any guard in the game now. And he's a gifted playmaker and leader that excels at making his team better.

But I still love Beal's potential. He's a future mid 20's per game scorer that does the bulk of his work off the ball, but who is also capable of finding teammates, rebounding, hustling and making the winning plays, etc. He's got the right personality, the intangibles of a winner and serious pro. And I think he's going to grow into a pretty brawny player capable of wearing opponents down physically and playing great D. We've got a while before he reaches his potential. And we're going through growing pains now. But he is going to be so good one day. He and Wall are going to be perennial All Stars.

Damian Lillard is way better than I expected, but I still think Beal ends up being the best overall perimeter player from the 2012 class. With what we've seen from Beal at ages 19 and 20, I think he's going to be the best SG in the NBA in as little as three or four years. I think there is a great chance we'll have the best PG and SG in the NBA at that point.

I'm glad we have Beal too, but I'm not so sure about him being a 'mid 20s' scorer just yet. If he doesn't significantly improve his scoring arsenal and creativity off the dribble, he may never be more than a ~19-21ppg guy. Every elite scorer in the league has the ability to create off dribble penetration, finish at the rim, draw fouls, and get to the line often. Thus far Beal has not shown any ability to get to the FT line on a consistent basis (unlike say Oladipo, in comparison). It's not a problem right now, but it's a concern. For the usage he's getting in this offense, he really should be averaging more FTAs. Much of that is on Wittman's system of inefficient long twos, but some of that is due to Bradley's own personal limitations as well.

Will Wall be the league's best PG in 3-4 years? Barring injury, that's a fairly reasonable expectation for him. Will Beal be the best SG then too? Offensively no, James Harden is only 24 and is clearly a level above Beal imo. There are some things you can't teach, and Harden has always been an extremely crafty offensive player going back to his college days and early years with OKC. I don't think Beal will ever be a wizard with the ball like Harden is, and I don't see him ever being able to draw fouls (yes, it is a skill and he deserves some credit for it) as proficiently either.

It remains to be seen how much Beal improves between his 2nd and 3rd years, that's going to give us a good idea of what caliber player he's going to be. If he comes in with improved ballhandling and more explosiveness off the dribble (and possibly even a mini post game), all will be well. If he still seems overly infatuated with long twos and makes no attempts to beat defenders off the dribble, we're probably going to have to adjust our expectations for him. I've heard Beal talk about wanting to hone those skills, so it does seem like he's aware of the holes in his game. But.. talk is cheap.

[GhostsOfGil]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVu31LrfvVs[/youtube]

[Sonny Carson]

Player A's last 3 game averages

26/10/6

Player B's last 3 game averages

26/8/4



Hmm..

Looks like we have an interesting PG battle for the future..

[nuposse04]

Player A's last 3 game averages

26/10/6

Player B's last 3 game averages

26/8/4



Hmm..

Looks like we have an interesting PG battle for the future..

Since the all star break both Wall and Kyrie have stepped their games up.

Wall is averaging 21-4-10 on 59% TS a +15 oRTG/dRTG differential. Not to mention he's also shooting 40%+ from 3 pt land while leading the wiz to the most important stat of all, wins. 6-1.

Kyrie has posted 22-5-7 in about 3 minutes more a game with a 56% TS and +8 Ortg/Drtg differential while shooting 36% from 3 pt land and getting his squad to play .500 ball (I think).

Kyrie has definitely stepped it up, but it is obvious who is the better PG in almost EVERY phase of the game, at least since all star break.

I do give Kyrie kudos for nearly winning at memphis, wall mightily struggled last time we played Memphis. Should be interesting tomorrow to see what he does

[hands11]

Just went back and read some posts earlier in this thread.. it's like night and day how much more pleased we've become with Wall in just the last one year.

And by contrast, personally I'm much more annoyed with Bradley Beal than I was this time a year ago.. in this very thread some Wiz fans were saying he was more important than Wall
Still so young though. Hopefully he works hard this summer and is able to take a 3rd year leap like John did

I'm excited about having both. I believe in them. I never thought Beal had the kind of upside and impact ability that Wall does. Wall is a truly dynamic athlete with the best raw skill set of pretty much any guard in the game now. And he's a gifted playmaker and leader that excels at making his team better.

But I still love Beal's potential. He's a future mid 20's per game scorer that does the bulk of his work off the ball, but who is also capable of finding teammates, rebounding, hustling and making the winning plays, etc. He's got the right personality, the intangibles of a winner and serious pro. And I think he's going to grow into a pretty brawny player capable of wearing opponents down physically and playing great D. We've got a while before he reaches his potential. And we're going through growing pains now. But he is going to be so good one day. He and Wall are going to be perennial All Stars.

Damian Lillard is way better than I expected, but I still think Beal ends up being the best overall perimeter player from the 2012 class. With what we've seen from Beal at ages 19 and 20, I think he's going to be the best SG in the NBA in as little as three or four years. I think there is a great chance we'll have the best PG and SG in the NBA at that point.

I think most NBA teams really take off once you have 3 guys that are exceptional on and off the ball (I think this is why EG drafted both Porter and Rice). We've seen shades of this this season with both John and Brad, but Brad still isn't there yet and the offense isn't constructed to take advantage of having Beal handle the ball. Ultimately I believe this team will turn around, Brad will improve, and John will go as this team goes.

We're only one piece away from being able to contend. Here's to hoping Bosh opts out.

yeep. Bosh very well could be that missing piece. That would open things for Wall. At that point, you could move Nene and keep Gortat and hopefully get Okafor for one year cheap. Its still not as good a design as having a stud SF that can handle the ball but they would be up there.

[hands11]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVu31LrfvVs[/youtube]

Awesome highlight.

PS - Those Raptor painted logos under each basket are so annoying. They look like standing signs but they are painted flat. Who does something like that ? The league should outlaw that. It makes it look like there is something there to fall over. I think they are the only court that has something like that.

[montestewart]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVu31LrfvVs[/youtube]

Awesome highlight.

PS - Those Raptor painted logos under each basket are so annoying. They look like standing signs but they are painted flat. Who does something like that ? The league should outlaw that. It makes it look like there is something there to fall over. I think they are the only court that has something like that.

I like those signs. It's a pretty cool effect, and the players don't see that perspective.

[keynote]

Ted just posted a link to Wise's article on Falk ripping Wall et. al. from last year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

Touche.

[keynote]

“Before Wall becomes Nene, I would trade him and get rid of him.”

Come on, really?

“I’m serious. He doesn’t have a feel for the game,” Falk said. “He only knows how to play one speed. Magic Johnson had a great feel, a court sense, by the time he was a sophomore in college. Chris Paul had it by the time he was a sophomore in high school.

“You can develop your jump shot all you want, but if you don’t know how to play more than an up-and-down game by the time you’re about 20 as a point guard, the chances of learning are very slim. I don’t see it happening.”

“Let me ask you a question,” Falk said, maybe 28 times over 30 minutes, often answering for you. “Who’s bigger, Kyrie Irving or John Wall? John Wall. Who’s a better athlete? John Wall. Who’s faster? Who’s stronger? John Wall.

“Now, who’s a better player? Kyrie Irving,” he said of Cleveland’s all-star point guard who was rookie of the year in 2012. “John Wall will never be as good as Kyrie Irving was in his first week in the NBA.

“You want to know the reason why just nine teams have won an NBA title in 40 years? Because if both of them came out today, 99 percent of all general managers would still take John Wall instead of Kyrie Irving. They’d take the athlete over the ballplayer. And they’d be wrong.”

[doclinkin]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVu31LrfvVs[/youtube]

Awesome highlight.

PS - Those Raptor painted logos under each basket are so annoying. They look like standing signs but they are painted flat. Who does something like that ? The league should outlaw that. It makes it look like there is something there to fall over. I think they are the only court that has something like that.

It's a Euro thing, all courts have that overseas, though often with advertising instead. But yeah the players are not tripping over a painted sign on the floor.

[go'stags]

So Johnathan Joseph's identity is revealed

But truthfully, while what he said about Wall was just hating, most of what he said about the rest of our team was true.

He does "love" both Ernie and Ted, though. If I was an agent I would, too.

[doclinkin]

The only remaining suspense for the Wizards was whether Ariza would reach 40 and Wall would match his career high in assists. In one frenzied sequence, both marks were achieved as Wall dived to the floor to wrestle away a loose ball and tossed it from his back to an open Ariza for a layup. Wall hopped up from the ground and pumped his fist after collecting his 16th assist, showing more emotion for Ariza than for any of the 17 points Wall scored in the game.

“What more can you ask for a guy who would do anything to see you succeed and see you strive to be the best you could be,” Ariza said. “That’s what we do here now. We all want to see each other succeed, because at the end of the day, we know if one of us succeeds, we all succeed — especially trying to go where we want to go.”

...

After making a running bank shot and missing a free throw with six-tenths of the second left in the period, Ariza angrily swung his arms. He wanted more. Wall made sure that his night was complete by scrapping for the ball and getting him 40 points. Ariza’s previous career high was 33.

“That was great for me,” Wall said of his emotional response. “He did a great job, and you want to see a guy that’s putting in the work and doing the extra sacrifices for our team of guarding the best players on any given night. You try to reward him for that, and that’s what I wanted him to do, to get a 40-point game.”

Loved that sequence. The games basically over and Johnny is diving onto the floor stealing a ball and tossing it back to Ariza to get him his highwater mark.

On the AI celebration I'd love for that packed arena full of fans to be us someday, raising Wall's jersey to the rafters. Though hopefully next to a meaningful banner or two.

[Illmatic21]

Wall has to get Eastern Conference POTW, right?

He's putting up filthy numbers and his team is on a 6 game winning streak, second-longest active streak other than the Heat. And Lebron missed the one game because of his nose

Wade has been putting up sick numbers too, but come on.. he's got Lebron and Bosh. If they don't give it to Wall I'm gonna be pissed

[Sonny Carson]

Player A's last 3 game averages

26/10/6

Player B's last 3 game averages

26/8/4



Hmm..

Looks like we have an interesting PG battle for the future..

Since the all star break both Wall and Kyrie have stepped their games up.

Wall is averaging 21-4-10 on 59% TS a +15 oRTG/dRTG differential. Not to mention he's also shooting 40%+ from 3 pt land while leading the wiz to the most important stat of all, wins. 6-1.

Kyrie has posted 22-5-7 in about 3 minutes more a game with a 56% TS and +8 Ortg/Drtg differential while shooting 36% from 3 pt land and getting his squad to play .500 ball (I think).

Kyrie has definitely stepped it up, but it is obvious who is the better PG in almost EVERY phase of the game, at least since all star break.

I do give Kyrie kudos for nearly winning at memphis, wall mightily struggled last time we played Memphis. Should be interesting tomorrow to see what he does

Truth be told..

And maybe this comment will be unfair to them and disrespectful to who I'm using as an example..

Wall and Kyrie have become the LeBron/Durant of the PG position in the east.

Contrasting styles that are equally effective. Kyrie is the insanely skilled scoring PG. Wall is the insanely athletic all around PG.

Now.....lets hope they keep it up.

[Illmatic21]

^Not playing defense is not effective.

Lebron and Durant play defense, Kyrie doesn't.

Wall vs Kyrie is more like prime Wade vs Harden.

[bgroban]

IMO, if the Wiz can finish strong and grab that 3rd seed, you have to give Wall some MVP votes.

[stevemcqueen1]

^Not playing defense is not effective.

Lebron and Durant play defense, Kyrie doesn't.

Wall vs Kyrie is more like prime Wade vs Harden.

Agreed, KD is a complete player. I see the dynamic you're going for with the Harden vs Wade comparison. Not to be too pedantic, but I think it should be noted prime Wade was a better player than Wall and Harden is a better player than Irving. But I agree with you that a similar dynamic is there.

Prime Wade = well rounded; scoring is built on his athleticism and slashing ability; good facilitator; unique ability to roam the floor on D and make impact plays like a forward

Harden = gifted scorer & effortless inside out game; not an explosive athlete but big and strong and above average quickness--game is built much more on creativity and skill than athleticism; lazy, disinterested defender.

Wall = well rounded true PG; rare gift for facilitating teammates; dangerous slasher; breathtaking athlete like Wade; uniquely disruptive defender like prime Wade.

Irving = brilliant shooter and ball handler, effortless inside out scoring ability, not a super explosive athlete but, like Harden, game is predicated on creativity and rare skill levels; lazy, disinterested defender.

This will get pedantic, but I see Harden isn't the pure shooter Kyrie is. But he's a lot better jump shooter than Wade ever was. Wall might actually be a better jump shooter than Wade, better at least from the FT line. But even still, none of those guys are the scorer Wade was because Wade was bruiser while also being as quick and explosive as Wall is. Better body control than Wall too. And another variation is that Wall is a true PG while Kyrie is a Gilbert Arenas style SG in a PG's body and Harden and Wade are SGs with SG bodies that have PG passing instincts and floor vision.

[Ruzious]

IMO, if the Wiz can finish strong and grab that 3rd seed, you have to give Wall some MVP votes.

Not unless he dramatically improves on offense. His stats right now are a slight dropoff from last season.

[Higga]

Wall named Eastern Conference Player of the Week again.