John Wall and the Washington Wizards Look for Win No. 1
With the first two picks in this year’s NBA draft, the Washington Wizards (0-2) and Philadelphia 76ers (0-3) locked up two of professional basketball’s most talented prospects in John Wall and Evan Turner, respectively. And, although each team is off to
a dismal start, one will finally make it into the win column as the squads face off on Tuesday, November 2nd at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Despite winless starts by both clubs, many believe that it’s only a matter of time before each of these superstars in the making will get the opportunity to turn their respective franchises around. As of now, Wall seems to be the one making the most influential
impact, as Turner has yet to crack the starting line-up for the 76ers.
Although Turner is garnering a healthy 27.7 minutes per game coming off the Philadelphia bench, Wall has started in both of the Wizards’ contests this season, and averages 38.5 minutes on the floor. Furthermore it has been Wall, a former All-American and superstar
in his only year at the University of Kentucky, who has shown that he has what it takes to compete at the next level.
In a heartbreaking 99-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, October 30th, Wall nearly led his team to victory, posting 28 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Rebounding from a poor performance in the season-opening defeat at the hands of the Orlando
Magic, Wall improved his shooting Saturday (going 9 of 17), as well as his ability to get the rest of his teammates involved, adding nine assists.
“He's worked a lot on his shot and it paid off,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said of Wall’s improvements. “He made a couple shots and got his confidence going. He had overall a pretty nice floor game and made a lot of improvements from Game 1.”
The Wizards are also awaiting the return of guard Gilbert Arenas, whose felony gun conviction earned him a 50-game suspension last season. Arenas has yet to play this year, missing the first two games with a right ankle sprain.
Although they have yet to pull out a win this season, Saunders appears to be pleased with the progress that his young and seemingly undermanned squad has made in just two games. “I told our guys I'm never satisfied with losses,” the coach said, “but I was satisfied
with our competitive spirit.”
First-year Philadelphia coach Doug Collins hasn’t had much luck with his team thus far this season either. Lauding the defensive play of his squad, Collins assures fans and foes alike that his team’s demise is the result of their inability to come up with some
consistent offensive production.
“It's not our defense,” Collins said, “it's our offense. We try to do too much on our own. Turn the ball over. Bad shots. They run out and score.”
The 76ers attempt to avoid their first 0-4 start since the 2001-02 season, during which they lost their first five games. However, they’ll have their hands full trying to contain Wall and the rest of the Wizards, who will more than likely try to run the 76ers
out of the gym.
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