WALL’S WIZARDRY MAKES WASHINGTON A TOUGH OUT
John Wall on a fast break puts the defense in a difficult position, and Wall operating the Washington Wizards halfcourt offense creates a predicament for the defense.
When Wall is the perfect mix of both — as he was Sunday — the Wizards are difficult to beat. Not that the Atlanta Hawks didn’t know that, but the idea was reinforced in Washington’s 114-107 victory against the Hawks in Game 1 of their firstround Eastern Conference playoff series.
Wall scored a playoff career-high 32 points, delivered 14 assists and had four rebounds, accounting for 57 of Washington’s points with his shooting and passing.
“If I’m scoring and my teammates are scoring, I’m always going to be hyped,” Wall said. “I get more excited when I get a nice assist than I do scoring.”
The Wizards established the early theme to this series: If the Hawks can’t limit Wall, it’s going to be tough for the fifth seed to beat the fourth-seeded Wizards. Game 2 is here Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV).
Wall took over the third quarter with 15 points and four assists and helped turn a halftime deficit into an 83-76 Washington lead headed into the fourth. During one sequence in the third, he scored or assisted on 14 consecutive points — a driving reserve layup, back-to-back assists to Markieff Morris for vicious dunks, a three-pointer, an alley-oop pass to Marcin Gortat and a layup for a three-point play.
It went from a 61-55 Wizards lead to a 75-61 Wizards lead in three minutes, with Wall displaying his ability to break down defenders in transition and with his deliberate attack in halfcourt offense.
“John can take over games, he can take over quarters, he can take over plays,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s a tremendous competitor, and he plays with toughness and he gets shots — 32 and 14, that’s a high-level All- Star game. Not only is he one of the best players at his position, he’s one of the best players in the league. I see that every day.
“I’ve seen it enough, and I know now to just keep my mouth shut and let him take over the game.”
Wall can score — he had 52 points against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 6 — but there’s no doubt Wall is at his best when he’s reaching double figures in assists. Getting his teammates involved offensively, especially Morris and Otto Porter Jr., makes Washington dangerous.
The opponent’s strategy is usually to slow Wall, but his speed, decision-making and savvy have destroyed several teams’ game plans.
“If he wanted to average 27, 28 or 30 points a game, he could probably do that,” Brooks said. “But it’s not going to make us a better team. He makes us a better team by playing the way he plays on both ends of the floor. He brings a toughness and edge to our team that we need.”
Wall was an All-Star for the fourth time this season, but Sunday’s performance proved he is worthy of making one of the three All-NBA teams — a spot reserved for one of the top six guards in the league.
His play (23.1 points, 10.7 assists and two steals per game) gives him a strong chance to make it, and it’s a goal Wall set out to achieve at the start of the season. The Wizards had the best record in the Eastern Conference from Dec. 1 through the end of the regular season, and Wall was a major reason for that.
This was Wall’s first playoff game since the 2015 postseason when the Hawks eliminated the Wizards 4-2 in the second round. Wall missed three games of that series with five non-displaced fractures in his left hand. Had Wall been healthy, the Wizards had a much better chance to beat the Hawks and reach the conference final.
Wall admitted that has been on his mind, and if he keeps playing as he did Sunday, Wall will get that series victory against the Hawks he wanted two seasons ago.
“He makes us a better team by playing the way he plays on both ends of the floor. He brings a toughness and edge to our team.” Wizards coach Scott Brooks, on Washington point guard John Wall