John Wall takes blame for Wizards’ recent struggles: ‘I have to play better’

The engine is sputtering, so John Wall verbally took his finger and pointed it toward himself. The Washington Wizards are on a four-game losing streak, three of which were not competitive, causing angst on social media angst and fans to throw their hands into the air. Just what is going on?

In large part, Wall said, it’s his fault. A season after being the Eastern Conference’s starting point guard in the All-Star Game, Wall is working through an early season swoon. The Wizards, at 6-8, are in tow.

“I have to play better for my team to have a chance to win games,” Wall said. “I have to play at an all-star-type level, and I haven’t. I did, like, the first week of the season, but since then, we haven’t. Since we went 3-1, it’s been a downfall for my team, and that starts with my play and my leadership.”

Frustrations for Wall can be traced to his jump shot. His game hangs on his speed, but he has worked on adding an at least reasonable jump shoot to the blur of his feet. Last season, Wall shot 41.8 percent from midrange, and logically, there was a direct relationship between his overall shooting percentage and wins and losses. When the Wizards won, Wall shot 47.3 percent. When they lost, the percentage dipped to 39.7. His 3-point shooting, in particular, tumbled in losses, down to an eye-covering 22.6 percent.

The variance in his shooting percentage this season has a similar lull. Wall shoots 44.3 percent in wins, 35.7 percent in losses.

Wall’s slog to start the season has touched several offensive categories. His marquee talent, creating shots for others, is producing fewer assists. He is having trouble shooting accurately. His turnovers are up.

The changes are not slight. Wall is averaging 1.5 fewer points, 2.4 fewer assists, 0.5 more turnovers and has watched his field-goal percentage drop from a career-high 44.5 percent last season to 39 percent through 14 games.

During the four-game losing streak, Wall is 6-for-25 from midrange. The struggle has prompted opposing coaches to reach back for older volumes in the “How to stop John Wall” series. With Wall this ineffective when shooting jumpers, defenses are back into sag-and-pack mode, giving Wall space on the perimeter and populating the paint. That structure cuts him off from the lane and poor shooting leaves him with no antidote.

“This system is for more spacing, but it’s not as much spacing as we thought it was,” Wall said. “Early on, we had a lot more spacing and that’s when things were clicking. Lately, it’s not been that. It [takes] me playing better and making open shots and my teammates making open shots.”

Sunday, Wall thought through what was wrong. Monday, he took extra shots after practice with assistant coach Howard Eisley before catching the team flight to Cleveland, where the Wizards will play the Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Wall noticed on film he was not generating the same lift on his shot as last season, when several coaches around the league noticed an improvement. He tried to fix it.

Iit’s not all boo-hoo. Wizards players contend the locker room remains solid, devoid of the cynical internal chatter that accompanied a 2-7 start in the 2013-14 season. Wall said going to the arena, being around his teammates and the coaching staff remains fun.

“What’s most important about this team, even though we’re going through a [bad] stretch here, is nobody’s trying to be somebody they’re not,” Wall said. “Everybody’s sticking to themself. We all know what this team can be when we play the right way and do the right things and everybody gets to clicking. So, I know people were panicking, and I get a lot of Twitter trash talk. But, that doesn’t bother me. When we get back to playing well and I’m playing well, they’ll all be back on the bandwagon.”

Backup power forward Drew Gooden, who is still working back from a left calf strain, topped Wall’s outlook.

“We [are] only 5.5 games out of first place,” Gooden said. “That’s the biggest thing that stood out to me. Why panic?”

Wizards sign Hollins, waive Webster

Swingman Martell Webster used two crutches to walk from the locker room to the elevator on Monday. Hip surgery on Nov. 20 ended his season. The Wizards’ decision to waive him Monday and sign center Ryan Hollins to a non-guaranteed deal closed his time with the organization.

Webster spent three-plus seasons in Washington. His first was the most productive. Webster averaged 11.4 points, shooting 42.2 percent from behind the 3-point line in the 2012-13 season, and signed a four-year, $22 million contract afterward. A third back surgery took him off the floor following the 2013-14 season. He played just 32 games last season.

Webster, 28, bounded into this season’s training camp in better shape and spirits. He explained how good he felt after working with a specialized trainer in Portland. However, Webster’s body quickly took a negative turn, necessitating the surgery to repair the labrum and damaged cartilage in his right hip.

Hollins was cut during training camp by the Memphis Grizzlies. The spindly 7-footer has left the bench throughout his career and never averaged more than 16.9 minutes per game. After practicing Monday, he will be with the team on its trip to Cleveland.