"If you're not scoring the ball, then you got to find your teammates. That's what I did. We told [Trevor Booker] to set the screen and catch the ball at the free-throw line, and we let him make the play."

-John Wall after Monday night's 111-108 win over the Toronto Raptors.

There's no question that John Wall and the rest of the Washington Wizards struggle in the pick and roll. Each of the Wizards' ball-handlers (Wall, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford) have flaws that limit their effectiveness -- Wall's jump shot, Young's poor passing instincts and Crawford's propensity to search shots. Many of the Wizards' big men struggle to set screens, roll properly and finish or make plays as the roll man.

Nevertheless, Wizards fans should be encouraged by Wall's own performance in the pick and roll late in their 111-108 win over the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors elected to trap Wall and prevent him from turning the corner, a different look than simply going under the screen, the default strategy most teams use on Wall. For a young point guard, this adjustment can be tough. But to Wall's credit, he made the necessary read and delivered good passes to Trevor Booker to set up solid scoring opportunities.

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After writing this piece on John Wall on Friday, I spent a lot of time on Synergy Sports studying video and trying to figure out some of Wall's problems offensively. One major problem, of course, is that he's currently shooting an abysmal 22 percent on jumpers from 16-23 feet. All quick point guards need to have that shot in their arsenal to keep the defense honest and open up driving lanes to the basket, and Wall is very far away from having it.

Any time you're shooting that poorly from that distance, there are many problems with your shooting motion. However, I noticed one element in particular that Wall can easily clean up that should improve his percentage: his follow through.

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Let's not sugarcoat this: John Wall has not had a great season. Most figured he'd take a leap from a good-for-a-20-year-old rookie season that saw him miss lots of time due to injury. Instead, he's taken a step back in pretty much every way offensively. He's shooting 23 percent from the field on shots that aren't at the rim. His assists are down and his turnovers are up. His advanced shooting numbers, which were pretty poor last year, are even worse this year. It's not wrong to say that Wall has been bad this year.

That, of course, has led to all sorts of reactions from people around here. There's something to every possible data point on the wide spectrum of opinions on what to make of Wall's issues. In many ways, I think the level of disappointment stems from the weight of expectations placed on him by the team and by his draft position. He's far rawer than we realize.

But that doesn't mean I have concerns. Specifically, I'm worried that the environment to foster Wall's improvement is not there. It all speaks to what I call the "footballization" of basketball and its point guards.

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Coming out of college, Chris Singleton has been compared to just about every great perimeter defender of the past decade, from Shane Battier to Bruce Bowen. Everyone has different ideas of which lockdown guy would be the best one to emulate, but for me, the clear choice is James Posey. Both players were taken with the 18th overall pick in the draft. They also both entered similar situations, joining young, defensively deficient teams.

With that in mind, I decided to take a look at each player's stats for their rookie year to get a better idea of how Singleton stacks up with the player he should be emulating. Thanks to Basketball-Reference, you can compare their stats against one another right here. A few observations after the jump.

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Editor's Note: Kevin Broom has written for Real GM and the Washington Post's Box Seats blog, as well as occasionally commenting and contributing to Bullets Forever. He sent me this piece on JaVale McGee that follows. Thanks to Kevin for providing the insight. -Mike

Many Wizards fans are excited about the play of Javale McGee. The general sentiment is this: McGee has improved and he's still young. The action they want: The Wizards need to lock him up now rather than risk seeing him leave in free agency.

Evidence to support the "he's improved" claim usually includes:

• an expanded offensive repertoire -- specifically the hook and the post-up series
• better rebounding, and
• leading the league in blocked shots.

I am not here to terminate all talk of a McGee extension. He has otherworldly physical ability, and I've seen signs of development when I watch the games. I think he's getting better.

But, there's enough evidence to suggest that pumping the brakes on contract talks would be a wise course of action for the Wizards.

Here's why.

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Before we get started, there are several different systems for the romanization of the Chinese language. Americans are most familiar with the tai chi spelling, but if you prefer taiji, t'ai ch'i or what-have-you...potato tomato, potato tomato. The essence of tai chi is hotly debated by its aficionados, so forgive me if I further offend your sensibilities on a more important score.

From my limited experience, combative tai chi is not about speed, but intent. That's not to say you always move slowly, tai chi can be fast and brutal. The aim is to make your intentions invisible while deducing your opponent's and to exploit holes in their defense before they realize they're there. When this is successful, the opponent is often confused as well, because they have no idea what hit them or from where.

Sophomore campaigns often present difficulties in any competitive environment. The cliche 'sophomore slump' is sufficient proof of that. When a player finds success in an unorthodox way, opposing coaches use a year's worth of game film to their benefit in the offseason and put it on that player to adjust.

John Wall has got that blazing speed which always puts him a step ahead, but against a head coach's machinations? As Hannibal Smith says:

One step ahead of the game isn't the plan, kid. Two to three steps ahead. Beating an enemy's move before it's even made. That's a plan.

via subzin

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Sebastian Pruiti, who breaks down game tape better than any non-NBA employee I've ever read, has a great post on Grantland today on what John Wall must improve on to get to the next level. Pruiti looks at Wall's underwhelming performance in a couple half-court areas offensively and notes what Wall must do to be better at both next season. Those two areas are as follows:

• Jump shots: For a player who is not very good at shooting them and who is so lethal driving to the rim, Wall took far too many of these last year and was very indecisive doing so.
• Pick and roll play: Wall committed far too many turnovers on the pick and roll last year, making him largely ineffective in those spots.

Both seem like relatively easy fixes to me, which is why I'm excited.

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ESPN.com has a long article out on which players each team will release using the "amnesty clause," which is almost certainly expected to be in the new collective-bargaining agreement in some form.  What exactly that form is remains to be seen, but it looks like it'll be a little more lenient than the 2005 version.  As the article notes, it'll likely remove 75 percent of the players' salary from the salary cap, and teams will have much longer to decide when to actually use it on one of their players.

(Note: For the purposes of this piece, we're ignoring the owners' own hypocrisy in talking about the need to cut costs while also promoting a measure that will cause them to spend more money on player salaries. That angle was covered beautifully by Henry Abbott and Tom Ziller).

The name listed for the Wizards is obvious: Rashard Lewis.  Not only do Marc Stein and Chad Ford say that the Wizards using the clause on Lewis is a "slam dunk," but they even propose naming the actual thing after him.  They say the allure of cap space is too much to resist.

He's an amnesty lock some two years later.

And that's because the Wiz, once they shed the nearly $30 million in guaranteed money left on Lewis' deal, can instantly become a major player in both the free-agent and trade markets. Taking your time with the amnesty clause is a nice new luxury to have, but there's no need when there's an immediate payoff of substantial cap space to be had.

But is Lewis really a slam dunk?  I say no.

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