Wizards want to push the pace for upcoming season

John Wall has a new look these days. His hair is braided. His beard is shaggier.

But the Wizards hope the point guard’s appearance isn’t the only thing that has changed for this upcoming season.

With the Wizards in the beginning stages of their training camp, coach Scott Brooks wants his team to play faster — especially after Washington finished last season ranked 18th in pace. Part of that can be attributed to Wall missing 41 games with a knee injury, but more can be done.

The responsibility doesn’t necessarily fall solely on Wall, whom Brooks dubbed the fastest point guard in the league.

“With John’s speed, it’s hard for him to go faster because he plays hard and he plays fast,” said Brooks, who has also stressed the need for better defense and more three-point attempts. “But we need other guys to run with him. We need to run for each other.

“Sometimes you run ten times down the court and you might only get one opportunity to shoot, but you’re doing it for your teammates. That’s the mentality we have to emphasize.”

A team, arguably, can only be as fast as its personnel allows them to be.

In the offseason, the Wizards added guard Austin Rivers, forwards Jeff Green and Troy Brown Jr. and center Dwight Howard. The first three additions make sense for a get out-and-go style, but Howard? The 32-year-old center, despite his athleticism, isn’t exactly known for being Magic Johnson on the fastbreak.

Wall, though, thinks Howard — with his ability to catch lobs and draw defenders — will fit in just fine.

“A lot of time teams aren’t going to want to switch 1-5 with him down there because they’ll have to battle somebody who can finish at the post and get a lot of rebounds, so I think it’ll be easier for us,” Wall said.

Howard does have a recent history of playing fast. Last season, the Charlotte Hornets, Howard’s old team, averaged 100.53 possessions per 48 minutes — ninth-best in the NBA — and that number actually slightly increased with Howard on the floor (100.96).

At his introductory press conference in July, Howard stressed the importance of being able to adapt to a league that has gotten faster over the years.

He isn’t wrong. When Howard was first drafted in 2004, the Phoenix Suns led the NBA in pace at 98.62. That number, however, would rank just 20th last season — two spots below the Wizards’ pace of 98.89.

Playing faster, too, isn’t just about getting out on the fastbreak. This year, the Wizards have a goal of crossing the half court in four or five seconds, so they will have more time to run their sets.

By slowly taking the ball up the court last season, Wall said the Wizards would usually get to one or two of their initial reads. The hope, he said, is to have three or four.

The Wizards want to change this by having players hustle on change of possessions, consistently moving without the ball and spreading the ball around.

Far too often, Wall said, the Wizards would slow down near the end of the shot clock and get forced into taking a bad shot, usually with a player sucked into a one-on-one situation.

“That’s what we did a lot of times,” Wall said. “In the games, that makes it tough for you because you’ve got to be a hero and it’s tough for you to be a hero for 82 games and try to win games like that.”