Alvin Halimwidjaya
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The Washington Wizards are impossible to predict. Everyone’s expectations of them have flitted back and forth, from finals contenders to first-round fodder for a playoff powerhouse. Despite their struggles with consistency the past few seasons, they’re currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 31-22 record, nipping at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ heels for the third spot more than halfway into the season.
What’s even more surprising is that they’re on a five-game winning streak despite losing John Wall to injury before their recent tear. The star point guard will miss six to eight weeks to recover from minor surgery on his knee, but the Wizards seem to be doing fine without him. They’ve led the league in assist rate in Wall’s absence, pulling out big wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors. Washington still needs to hold the fort before Wall returns, but they’re currently proving all their critics wrong and thriving in the top half of the standings.
After the Wizards beat the Raptors, backcourt stud Bradley Beal commented “everyone eats” in an offense with great ball movement. Though he cleared the air and insisted it was not a shot at Wall, the uncomfortable truth is that there is significance to that statement. In their most recent win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, the Wizards piled up 29 assists, making it four of the last five games where Washington has recorded top-10 team totals in dimes this season.
In an injury-riddled season for John Wall, he’s only played 37 games, coughing up the ball with 3.6 turnovers per game and shooting the ball at a frigid rate with 34 percent from the field this year. As Wall’s struggles persist, the Wizards’ offense seems to breathe in the new space their improved ball movement has provided. Perimeter shooters like Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. benefit off the open looks that Wall usually provides, but getting the shot off swinging the rock instead of an isolation dime provides a more sufficient and efficient source of offense for the team’s role players on the perimeter.
Make no mistake; I’m not saying that the Wizards are better without Wall. Despite averaging his lowest assists per game total in four years, just over nine helpers per contest is nothing to sneeze at. John Wall at his best is one of the most dynamic players in the league and an elite point guard on both sides of the ball, not to mention Dwyane Wade’s successor for fiercest shot blocker at the guard positions. With Wall’s struggles on the court and off the court with injury, it would do well for the Wizards to learn to cope sans Wall and actually implement an offense that can run regardless of whatever key cog Washington is missing (as it happens way more than the Wizards would like it to). As long as John Wall is ready for Kyrie Irving, Lebron James and DeMar DeRozan in the playoffs, the Wizards are only improving when they learn to play without their star point guard.