Friday, September 28, 2012

The Impact of John Wall's Injury


       It was learned today that John Wall is going to be out for 8 weeks with a stress injury to his right knee, injecting a little bit of disappointment in the beginning of the Wizards' season. The 2012-13 Wizards were coming into the season with a little bit more hope than the previous year. With as revamped of a roster you can say you have by adding some players who may have had their best years behind them in Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, and more time with Nene (don't forget Martell Webster!). This year however, has more about what Washington has gotten rid of their very poor team chemistry around Wall. 
       In essence this planned to be a key season in both the career of John Wall and the Wizards organization, as both were looking to make the leap to the next level. Not insinuating that the Wizards were on the brink of being a successful playoff team, but being on the 11-14 end of the lottery wasn't that crazy of an idea. As for Wall, there was talk of him regressing in his second year or that he didn't improve enough. Yes, the numbers don't lie, Wall did not do the things like work on his jump shot (down from 29.6% to a 7.1% where he completely aborted it) and yes Wall did turn the ball over more instead of showing more experience. How can you blame him though when he had to deal with JaVale McGee making Not Top 10 every night, Andray Blatche who's name is synonymous with wasted potential, and Nick "Swaggy P" Young who is known for his ridiculous clothes and being unwilling to pass. Really you stare at Wall's stats per 40 minutes and really, other than the 3 point shooting, it is sort of hard to distinguish his two years. With the lineups the Wizards were putting out there, staying the same isn't a glaring red flag in my opinion.
       Wall's third year, which may deem to be crucial, now though will be delayed. The good news is that the first 31 days of this injury will be before the season start. The bad news is getting off on the right step, plus putting in some work on the jumper, may have been exactly what Wall and Washington would have needed.With all the moves on the roster (didn't mention that Bradley Beal is now in the backcourt), the team chemistry is much needed. Especially with the man who leads the offense, getting off to a good start as the new look team could be the difference in squeaking in the playoffs, and watching the ping pong balls like the last two years. Wall's talent is there, and the roster is now much more tooled so this number one pick is closer to the same level as other number one picks Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin. The only question now is will a loss of momentum lead to both the player and team being stuck in the same rut. The talent is there though, and I am definitely rooting for Wall to elevate himself from a great talent to the class of elite point guards. If the Wizards futility leaves you confused on what kind of ability he has there is always this: