The above link takes you to a write up of the Washington Wizards overtime victory against the Philadelphia 76ers last night. It discusses how rookie John Wall carried the Wizards and has been very impressive so far in his NBA debut.
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The Washington Wizards only won 25 games in 2009. Obviously they are looking to improve on that total in 2010; and they are clearly on the right track this season with John Wall running the point. Last night Wall recorded 29 points, 13 assists, 9 steals, and 2 rebounds on 9-16 shooting (.563%) while committing 8 turnovers. While those eight turnovers are definitely a concern, you really can’t complain when you get this kind of production out of a 20 year old.
When you add Wall to a roster that includes the improving Andray Blatche and newly signed—and still young—Yi Jianlian, you see a team that should definitely be able to win more than 25 games in 2010.
Jianlian definitely leaves a lot to be desired with his horrific shooting percentage (.402 for his career, .403 last season for New Jersey) but is still at an age where he can improve that number. If he can start shooting a tad better while posting the numbers he did last season for the New Jersey Nets (12.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.0 BPG) he’d help the Wizards improve immediately.
Andray Blatche undoubtedly will play a huge role in the Wizards improvement. Only twenty-four years old this season and standing 6 feet 11 inches (only an inch shorter than Jianlian) he shot 48% from the field last year while posting 14.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 0.9 BPG. He posted these numbers while being the only option for a team that traded away Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison at mid-season, while not having the services of Gilbert Arenas. Just imagine what he could do when teams have focus to on Wall, and “Agent Zero” (when he returns).
Wall, Blatche and Arenas make up Washington’s version of the “Big Three,” and with Jianlian clogging the middle you have team in place that can easily win more than 25 games in 2010. When Josh Howard returns you can add another good player to the mix.
It is conceivable that this Wizards team could actually post a .500 record this season which, as we know in the NBA can possibly mean a playoff berth. It seems the Wizards purge of older players that started at mid-season last year will begin to pay dividends only less than one season later.
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