Is John Wall Ready To Take On Elite Status?

Offensive Skills

For those that love the score-first mentality point guards, this section is to prove why Wall could be just as productive as any of them. Now, he isn’t going to hurt you by burying 10 threes like Curry or Irving can, but in terms of scoring, Wall obtains the ability to go off if his teammates aren’t exactly finding the bottom of the net.

It’s interesting because Wall wasn’t thought of a pass-first type of player coming out of Kentucky. A lot of people have mistaken him for being an arrogant and cocky type of guy, when really all he wants to do is create easy shots for those around him. That’s not saying he won’t get his share of shots per game, but his 44.5 field goal percentage indicates he’s pretty efficient when he looks to score. Last season, he took 65.5 percent of his shots came from 10 feet or less, so the majority of his work comes from slashing into the paint and finishing at the rim.

There are a plethora of ways Wall can get to the rim. It’s basically up to him what he wants to do at the moment. Oh, and also take into consideration of how the defense is playing him, but most of the time that doesn’t matter because of the blazing speed that helps him get where ever he wants on the floor.

Pick-and-Roll

Wall takes advantage of  pick-and-roll opportunities arguably better than anyone in the league. Ever since the addition of Marcin Gortat, the two have flourished in making the on-ball screen the basis of most half court sets. We’ll get to how Wall utilizes Gortat off the screen, but for now, we’ll focus on how Wall looks for his own opportunities coming off ball screens.

Wall is one of the — if not the — quickest players in the NBA, so when he comes off ball screens, often times the big gives him room to allow them to stay in front. Since 2010, Wall has worked on his midrange pull-up jumper and has progressively improved, shooting about 40 percent on those type of situations last season.

Here’s an example against Brooklyn last season as he uses the Gortat screen. Even with Deron Williams‘ effort to recover and contest the shot, Wall is still able to get into rhythm and capitalize:

In a game against the Knicks, Wall uses another on-ball screen from Gortat. This time, Cole Aldrich doesn’t hedge as hard as he should, making sure to respect Wall’s quickness as well. With ease, Wall splits the two defenders and finishes for an easy two:

Isolation

Even though point guards in the NBA are also some of the best defenders, not many can handle the speed of Wall. Therefore, if the defender is left in an isolation situation with him, Wall uses one move to blow past them looking to score. Similar to pick-and-roll situations, some will give Wall room to pull-up considering it’s better than giving up a possible layup. But even if they give him a couple steps, he has the ability to still expose their slow footwork in comparison with his.

Last season, 35 percent of his shot attempts came off seven or more dribbles. It’s easy to assume many of those come off ball screens, but you cannot discount the times where he has no choice but to take his man off the dribble in an isolation situation.

In a game against Detroit, Brandon Jennings is checking Wall on the perimeter. There is a backscreen being set at the free throw line for Wall to hit a cutter if he is open. Instead he notices Jennings isn’t sitting down in his stance and attacks him head on, blowing by him and finishing with contact against Greg Monroe:

Another instance of Wall’s speed and savvy for being in isolation situations came here against Orlando. Paul Pierce is coming off a double screen from Gortat and Nene at the top of the key, meaning the paint is opened. As the defender Evan Fournier jabs at Wall, he exposes the fact that he is to close and explodes past him for a left-handed finish.

Outside Shooting

Outside shooting is where Wall struggles the most. Hitting just 30 percent of his threes last season has been pretty much as good as it’s been at this point of his career, but that doesn’t mean he won’t take them and doesn’t have the ability to make them in important times.

When he does decide to take a shot from deep, it looks like he does so with great confidence. There are some players in the league that you can tell when they take a shot it’s almost because they are so open that they feel like they have to.

Here is an example of Wall once again coming off the ball screen, but this time pulling up from three-point land in rhythm:

When analyzing his form, it has come a long way from when he was a rookie. Like any player that struggles with long-range shooting, constant repetitions will help his results in the future.

Fast-Break Scoring

This is the portion of Wall’s offensive game that is pretty much impossible to stop. When he is in the open court, his speed, ball-handling and athleticism all lead to one thing: an easy layup for either him or a teammate. We’ll get into his passing in the open court later in this article, but for the purpose of scoring, if he has a step on the defender then you might as well just put two points on the board because it’s going to be a breakaway layup.

Wall will also speed dribble right at the defender and bury them under the basket, which will also result in two points, or maybe even a three-point play off a foul — like in this clip of him attacking the rim against the Celtics on a fast break. He splits the two defenders, takes the contact and ends up on the other side of the rim to finish an and-one opportunity:

He is so controlled despite going full speed at the rim. Russell Westbrook is similar in regards to being able to contort his body around the defense while sprinting, but Wall does it so fluidly to the point where it looks like a normal move that any player can make.

In the playoffs last season as he was going head-to-head in a heated battle with Jeff Teague, Wall had a fast-break opportunity and Teague was the victim of a nasty in-and-out move:

There are a countless number of highlights that could be used here to express why Wall is easily the hardest player to guard in the open floor. These videos are just two that help you appreciate how smooth he can be while also being so controlled.

Next: Defensive Prowess