Jan Vesely struggling in his second NBA season for the Washington Wizards
Jan Vesely was tipped to the next break out star from the Washington Wizards, but ever since this season started, the Czech forward has seemed lost on the court. He was drafted as the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft and is now currently playing his second season with the Wizards. The 6 foot 11 inch forward had a decent season as a rookie, averaging 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds last year. But he has been out of sorts lately.
In the 14 games so far this season, Vesely has managed to collect a total of 29 points and 30 rebounds and his poor show has been one of the main reason why the Wizards have been struggling to pull off wins. These stats are low enough by any one’s standard and particularly for this Czech Republic player who once beat out Ricky Rubio as the best young player in the Europe.
The Wizards need the player who used to average around 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the last 15 games of the previous season if they want to come out of their current slump. Coach Randy Wittman is certainly concerned;
“He needs to play better. No question, He’s non-aggressive and he can't play that way.”
A regular starter last year, Vesely’s minutes on the court have been declining, owing to his unimpressive shows. In the last three games, the forward has just featured for a total of 14 minutes and that is something which needs to be improved drastically.
Vesley admits he is struggling and causing more harm than help to his team’s cause,
“It’s a team sport and if somebody plays better, I have to respect that,”
The 22 year old has been struggling in nearly all the facets of his game. His shooting average has dropped down to 43.3 percent from 53.7 percent last year. Moreover, his ability to score from the foul line has also posed serious questions at 23.1 percent, compared to 53.2 percent last year.
According to the player, a major part of his struggles has been the absence of star play maker John Wall,
“I like fast basketball. Running with Jan Wall on the fast break, that’s nice, but it’s not everything. I just need to know how to play with everybody”.
Wall or no Wall though, Vesely has to start posting some number pretty soon or else he would be shifted to the deepest seat on the bench.
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