Washington Wizards Offense Relies Heavily On John Wall
The Washington Wizards have leaned on All-Star point guard John Wall to carry the offense . But as Wall recovers from off-season knee surgery his status for the regular season opener against Atlanta is uncertain.
Few players face the nightly workload of Washington Wizards point guard John Wall.
The 25-year-old has been tasked with generating a significant portion of the points scored by a top-10 offense in the NBA. Washington ranked ninth in scoring (104.1 points per game) behind Wall’s ability to facilitate ball movement.
The passing and scoring of Wall spawned a total of 3,433 points during the 2015-16 season, more than 40 percent of the total points Washington registered all year.
According to Basketball-Reference, only three players–Wall, Russell Westbrook and James Harden–provided more than 40 percent of their team’s total points a season ago.
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Nearly every play down the court, Wall has to direct the flow of the Wizards offense, as he possessed the ball for more than seven minutes a night, the fifth highest amount in the NBA.
The extensive amount of time with the ball also proved to be problematic, resulting in 4.1 turnovers a night as he often pressed to create scoring opportunities for teammates.
Even if his passes didn’t lead to an assist, they frequently setup a scoring opportunity for his teammates. Stephen Curry was the only player to average more secondary assists than the three-time Eastern Conference All-Star.
No player has been more consistent at setting up teammates for easy looks than Wall. The 6-foot-4 guard is the only player in the league to dish out 700 or more assists in each of the last three seasons.
Since being selected with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall ranks 21st among all active players in assists with 3,779.
Wall evolved into a complete player during his sixth season in the league, posting career-highs with 10.2 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 steals and hit 35.1 percent of his 3-point shots as he scored 19.8 points per game.
Without Wall in the lineup, as evidenced during Tuesday night’s loss to Miami in the pre-season opener, the offense has been in disarray.
The Wizards totaled 95 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the field and totaled just 21 assists, 3.5 fewer than their average last season.
Washington may have to adjust to playing without Wall as he continues his recovery from double knee surgery performed on May 5.
Pain in the knee has been a problem for Wall the past few seasons, and once the regular season was completed, with Washington missing the playoffs for the sixth time in the past eight years, he consulted with physicians.
Much of Wall’s game is based on his speed and athleticism, so instead of entering the 2016-17 season with lingering knee issues, he decided to spend the off season focusing on becoming fully healthy.
Wall was among the 31 finalists to join Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but he opted to undergo the surgical procedures to remove calcium deposits from his left knee and had loose particles taken out of his right knee.
At Monday’s team practice, Wall showed some progress, as he played nearly 20 minutes during a five-on-five scrimmage, marking the first time he has participated in a live scrimmage.
The team hasn’t spent much time without Wall on the court recently, as he has played 2,750 minutes in each of the past three years, a feat only matched by Harden.
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The extensive workload has wore Wall down, he even admitted so during Washington’s media day.
Last season, Washington’s bench averaged just 17.4 minutes a night, the fifth fewest in the NBA.
By adding free agent Trey Burke and finally convincing Tomas Satoranksy, the 32nd overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, to finally leave FC Barcelona Lassa and join the Wizards, the team has plenty of depth behind Wall.
Burke started in place of Wall Tuesday night against the Heat, but produced 14 points and five assists in his absence.
Satoransky is a 6-foot-7 guard that brings plenty of excitement to the lineup. Both Burke and Satoransky could play point for extended periods of time, allowing Wall to spend some time at shooting guard.
Next: Washington Wizards: 2016-17 Season Outlook
Washington still plans on incorporating Wall into much of its offensive sets, but distributing the workload to other players, including a pair of capable backups, could be beneficial to everyone on the roster.