John Wall was giving his teammates open looks on what seemed like every shot the Wizards took on Friday night. He ended the night with a career-high 18 assists. Wall’s final assist on the night came with 46 seconds left in the third quarter, and he did not get the chance to improve his career high in the fourth quarter because he did not play. According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, Wall said after the Wizards huge win over the Knicks,
“Everybody on the team was just trying to tell me to get 20,” Wall said. “That’s one of my goals, trying to get 20. I keep falling short.”
Wall has passed the ball very well for the Wizards as of late. He had 15 assists against the 76ers in the Wizards win on Wednesday, and 18 today. In his last two games, Wall has been ice cold shooting a combined 9 for 24 from the field, including going 3 for 13 Friday. Only scoring a combined 19 points in the games, Wall decided to dish the ball more than put up shots that might hurt the team.
Wall became the second player in the NBA this season with back-to-back 15 assist performances, the other player was another former Kentucky Wildcat Rajon Rondo. Since John entered the NBA in 2010, the Wizards are 12-1 in games where he recorded 15 or more assists. Passing the ball is a strength of John Wall (otherwise known as Optimus Dime) and the Wizards win a games when he dishes the rock to his teammate.
