The Washington Wizards have all the makings of a full-fledged championship contender.Or, they do whenever MVP-caliber point guard John Wall hits the hardwood, at least.
Behind 24 points, 11 assists and six rebounds from their All-Star floor general, the Wizards picked up their 20th win of the season with a 102-91 victory over the New York Knicks to kick off the NBA's five-game Christmas slate. It was Wall's 17th points-assists double-double of the season and ninth outing with at least 20 points and 10 dimes, both of which are tops in the league.
Wall tied center Marcin Gortat for the team lead with a plus-11 point differential, which basically equates to business as usual for the former. During Wall's 1,011 minutes this season, the Wizards have outscored their opponents by 8.5 points per 100 possessions. That net efficiency rating is higher than the ones put up by 29 of the 30 teams in this league.
When Wall takes a seat, so does Washington's effectiveness. In the 348 minutes Wall hasn't played, the Wizards have been outscored by 5.8 points per 100 possessions. That net rating would check in at 25th, nestled between the rebuilding Utah Jazz (minus-5.2) and the nine-win Los Angeles Lakers (minus-6.2).
In other words, there may have been more than sentimentality that led Gortat to dub Wall as the NBA's best point guard recently, per Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post:"He's our leader; he's asked to carry a big load," veteran Paul Pierce said of Wall, per ESPN.com's Michael Wallace. "…He's going to do our scoring. He's going to get assists. He's going to be the defender. … He's asked to deliver. That's what he [does]."
There is no objective definition of an MVP, but the essential requirements involve leading an elite team. And that's the perfect way to describe what Wall has done this season.
He leads the Wizards in points (17.8 per game) and assists (10.4). Entering Thursday's action, he also tied for the team lead with a 101 defensive rating. Considering he helped limit sharpshooting Knicks point guard Jose Calderon to 16 points on 14 field-goal attempts and four assists in 36 minutes, if Wall's defensive efficiency mark moved at all, it only improved.And the same is starting to be true of the MVP race. There are still a handful of names in front of him on that list, but Wall seems to be gaining ground by the day.
"Washington's All-Star point guard should be a lock for the Eastern Conference starting first five," wrote NBA.com's Sekou Smith. "Wall is...constantly making plays for his teammates, all while creating opportunities for himself to boot. That part of his game is truly as good as it's ever been."
Wall won't take the best statistics portion of the MVP vote—not if guys like Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James Harden continue to produce at their current rates.
And the best-player-on-the-best-team segment of the voting populace will turn to the likes of Curry and Marc Gasol before Wall enters the picture.
But if the award is handed out to the player who means the most to his team—which, in my book, would seem to capture the essence of being the league's most valuable—then Wall is quickly giving himself a puncher's chance.
The Wizards are contenders with him and a borderline playoff team without him. If that doesn't highlight the true measure of Wall's value, it's hard to imagine what would.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2310568-john-wall-on-cusp-of-entering-nba-mvp-conversation
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