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Washington Wizards Season Outlook 2016-17: John Wall Still Has Room To Improve

By Blaise Malley

Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) poses for a portrait during Wizards media day at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) poses for a portrait during Wizards media day at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Wizards’ All-Star John Wall can potentially take his game to another level now that Scott Brooks has become the team’s head coach.

John Wall received his first live game action of the preseason against the New York Knicks on Monday after undergoing double-knee surgery this off-season.

As expected, Wall showed some rust during the 90-88 loss, but most importantly, he’s healthy and back on the court. He played 16 minutes, totaling 8 points and 4 assists. On Thursday, Wall scored 9 points and dished out 9 assists against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Steadily, his minutes and production have increased.

His impact on the Washington Wizards‘ game on both sides of the ball is undeniable, as evidenced by the way the team has played with and without him.

He’s the team’s primary creator and most important defender when locked in.

Failing to land a big-time free agent, the Washington Wizards will continue to rely on their star player and the team’s internal development.

Scott Brooks, known for is ability to develop players, was brought to the nation’s capital to help the team’s core grow together.

In Oklahoma City, the likes of Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson and Steven Adams all saw their games develop under the head coach.

Ibaka, perhaps the most obvious example of Brooks’ development chops, blossomed into one of the league’s best shot blockers and mid-range shooters. When he entered the league, Ibaka was solely a rim protector. Now he’s averaged as many as 15.1 points in his career.

Ernie Grunfeld is hopeful that Brooks will have a similar impact on the Washington Wizards’ players, including John Wall.

As a rookie, Wall was completely dependent on his raw skills. He used his quickness, strength and athleticism to score and find his teammates, but didn’t know how to change speeds nor hit shots from the perimeter.

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In his first three seasons, all of which ended with the Wizards in the lottery, Wall combined to make only 49 three pointers.

The next season alone he made 108.

In 2015-16, he set a career-high with 115 made three pointers.

He’s by no means a knock-down shooter, though.

Wall has room to improve as a mid-range shooter given how many good looks he gets from 16 or more feet.

He peaked in 2014-15 at just over 39 percent before regressing last year, hitting on about 36 percent.

It is also important that Wall – following the general NBA trend – has started eschewing the mid-range game in favor of more threes and looks at the basket.

Both his shot distribution at the rim and from beyond the 3-point line have increased over the past three seasons, where 29 percent of his attempts took place at the rim and a career high 24 percent were threes.

Wall’s shot distribution chart also indicates how much more comfortable he has become with his outside shot as his career has progressed. 41 percent of his shot attempts in his second season were at the basket; this refusal to take outside looks resulted in Wall’s lowest scoring output in his career.

This indicates that Wall has improved his outside shot, but still needs to improve his touch for his offensive game to be at its most devastating.

As a passer, Wall has already shown  to be one of the best in the world.

His speed helps him consistently beat the first defender and spreads the defense thin, and his vision is second to none.

Wall is also one of the best at using his head and eyes to fool defenders. Even though Wall can still cut down on turnovers, some of them are a result of him thinking a step ahead of his own teammates.

The fact that Wall led the league in assisted threes on a team that ranked 11th in three pointers made, and that the team’s best shooter, Bradley Beal, was not fully healthy, is a testament to his ability as a passer.

His passing ability is elite and won’t change going forward. However, there are some other areas he can focus on.

The first, and perhaps most instrumental to the team’s overall offensive success, is Wall being slightly less ball dominant.

Even if Wall is creating a shot for a teammate, he still holds on to the ball for a slightly too large portion of the shot clock.

If the Washington Wizards want to evolve into a pace-and-space team, rapid ball and body movement is perhaps the most crucial element.

Building off that idea, Wall needs to be more active in the rare instances in which he is not controlling the ball. He is too often static in these situations, which hinders the offensive flow as much as when he is dominating the ball.

Wall’s third improvement is a more situational.

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Despite his exceptional passing skills, the Wizards’ point guard needs to be more willing to take over the game as a scorer when the game calls for it.

It is often astounding to me how Wall can shoot 2-12 from the field but still seemingly dominate a game with a 9/8/9 statline.

However, certain times call for certain measures, including Wall being a more willing scorer.

If Wall becomes a more aggressive scorer, he should easily surpass the 20 point per game barrier next season.

On the other side of the ball, Wall’s success seems to be a direct result of his desire to play defense.

In 2014-15, specifically in the latter stages of the regular season and in the playoffs, Wall was fully engaged, pressuring the ball, fighting through screens and making dynamic jumps into passing lanes.

He handled Chris Paul in a regular season matchup and completely outplayed Kyle Lowry in the Wizards’ four-game sweep over the Toronto Raptors in the postseason.

Last season, maybe due to a schematic change, Wall seemed lazier on pick-and-rolls, as he knew that Marcin Gortat would be there to help. His aggressive on-ball defense often also falters against the more physical point guards, like Russell Westbrook. Last season’s disappointment might drive Wall to be fully locked-in this season.

Next: Is Kelly Oubre the Next Paul George?

Entering his seventh season, it’s time for John Wall to reach his full potential with the Washington Wizards. As good as he’s been, Wall still has a ton of room to grow and develop – and he knows it too.

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