John Wall is averaging a career-high 23.6 points per game. He is shooting at a personal-best clip from three-point range and from the floor overall. He is playing as many minutes as he did last season.
And he’s not even 100 percent.
From NBA.com’s David Aldridge:
And Wall is playing remarkably well for someone who had surgery on both knees in the offseason, and wasn’t cleared to play until just before the start of training camp. He’s posting career bests so far in total shooting (45 percent from the floor) and 3-point shooting (37 percent), while ranking third in the league in assists (9.6 per game). But he’s still not yet 100 percent.
“I’m close to it,” he said. “I know it’s going to take time, but I’m close to it. To be where I am and be able to play back-to-backs and be able to play the way I am right now, I’m happy for it, because I didn’t think I’d be anywhere close to this after having two surgeries over the summer. I thought I’d probably be getting into the rhythm of things now.”
This should scare the rest of the NBA…in a manner of speaking. If Wall isn’t 100 percent and still having a borderline career year, that only makes the job of opposing defenses impossibly tougher. He is already difficult to guard; what’s going to happen when he’s fully healthy?
The upshot? The Washington Wizards aren’t very good. They are four games under .500, with an offense and defense that are both hovering around the bottom 15 in efficiency.
Career-year John Wall hasn’t even been able to save him. The offense is noticeably better with him on the floor, but the Wizards are outscoring opponents by an unimpressive 1.5 points per 100 possessions when he’s in the game. That’s good enough to get in the playoffs, but it won’t leave Washington competing for anything special.
And this, mind you, doesn’t factor in the 12-15 minutes per game the Wizards must play without him. Maybe Wall will get better, and maybe that will be reflected in the standings, but there is only so much one player can do to help a team that, right now, profiles as lottery-bound.
