Wall Crumbling?: Reasons For John Wall's Struggles With The Washington Wizards

John Wall has been amazing this season for the Wizards, although he hasn't played seven games this season due to injury. But he seems to have struggled a bit with consistency ever since his game against the Portland Trailblazers, where he went 3-13 shooting and only had 10 points and two assists. The assists can sometimes be explained by Wall's teammates not scoring off of good passes, so that can't completely be blamed on Wall.

Head Coach Flip Saunders had his take on John Wall's performance against the Trailblazers and Knicks, where he shot a combined 7-27 from the court, although Wall sat out the majority of the 3rd quarter due to a jammed thumb.

"He struggles when he misses shots, as most young players do. They think a lot of their game is dictated by whether they make shots or not make shots. He's one of the few players in the game—and maybe he doesn't understand it yet—that can have an impact on the game by not even scoring. I thought he lost energy when he missed shots. He became frustrated. He let it affect the rest of his game. Not getting into guys defensively enough or getting stagnant offensively." Saunders commented after the Washington Wizards' loss against the New York Knicks.

Does coach know best?

He Is Adjusting to Being a Franchise Player

Lets face it, Wall has the franchise resting on his shoulders.

It's okay that everyone is saying that Wall and Arenas need time, but how do we even know that John Wall's ability to lead and take over will be established?

It seems more likely for him to follow Arenas' lead.

No matter how much the Wizards want to simply just give the keys of the franchise to John Wall and make him the leader, they can't erase the fact that he is a 20 year old rookie playing alongside a fallen superstar who has been here for years.

Wall probably has trouble telling their rising PF Andray Blatche anything, being that this is his sixth year and Blatche has had previous issues regarding his attitude.

His Nagging Injuries

Wall just doesn’t look right since he got injured in the game against the Chicago Bulls. He’s not playing with the same energy, with the exception of the game in LA, where he put on a show.

He has had injuries to his left foot, which kept him out for a total of seven games. With constant pain in his foot, it is tough for Wall to develop a rhythm with the team and get some chemistry down. The chemistry the Wizards are struggling with is more difficult to develop than for teams like the Miami Heat, because of the young players the Wizards have picked up this off-season.

Conclusion

Wall is struggling to understand what it is to be a franchise player that is on a rebuilding program, who really doesn't have any veterans on the team he can follow as a good example.

At times, his health is a problem. Maybe he doesn't understand how important it is to not pressure yourself into playing games where you know you aren't 100%.

Sometimes it seems like he doesn't understand what the difference between having an injury and having a little nick. Some injuries are just a little pain here and there and you can push through, while others are things you have to sit out a game for.

I think part of it is the Wizards have no real identity or style of play. They have so many players handling the ball and look lost, as if they forgot the current play or something. Arenas, instead of playing the two, always goes back to get the ball from the big, thus disrupting a real strength in Wall’s game.

Wall needs to become a floor general and take command of being a PG on the team in order to become a dominant personality. Even as a rookie, he needs to feel comfortable getting the guys to fall in line even when Arenas and Hinrich command the ball.

If he can string together a stretch of games where he can build some rhythm and comfort, he’ll be fine.

Gotta stop allowing injury excuses to affect his mentality. A lot of players are always nicked and play through it, which seems to be John Wall's "Rookie Wall" that he has hit.

But don't get it twisted; John Wall is still a stud.