Geoff Burke/USA TODAY SportsThe return of John Wall has the Wizards playing more efficiently on both ends of the floor.
After missing the first 33 games with a knee injury, John Wall made his season debut Jan. 12 -- and since then things have been much different for the Washington Wizards. They are 8-7 since Wall’s return – three more wins than they had without him (5-28) – including wins against the Hawks, Nuggets, Bulls, Clippers and most recently, the Knicks.
So how has the former No. 1 draft pick helped change the Wizards? They’re shooting better from the floor, scoring more, allowing fewer points and sharing the ball more with Wall on the court.
Washington Wizards This Season
The Wizards’ offensive efficiency, or points per 100 possessions, is 99.8 in the 15 games with Wall, compared to 93.1 in the 33 games without him. Their defensive efficiency, or points allowed per 100 possessions, is also down considerably since Wall’s return (see chart).
In the 33 games without Wall, the Wizards spent 12.5 percent of their plays in transition and averaged 15.6 transition points per game. Since Wall’s return, the team is in transition on 16.6 percent of their plays, averaging 18.6 points per game.
Though Wall is averaging about two fewer points this season than in his first two seasons in the league, he is sharing the ball more. Wall has assisted on 42.4 percent of his teammates’ field goals when he is on the court. That assist percentage is the highest of his career, and is the fifth highest percentage this season among players who have logged at least 250 minutes.
Can we expect more of the same on Friday? The numbers say yes. Wall has scored in double figures in four of five career meetings against the Nets and Brooklyn ranks in the bottom half of the league in both opponent field goal percentage (56.7) and points per game allowed (15.8) in transition this season.
--Statistical support for this story from NBA.com--