John Wall was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, and part of what comes with that honor is the expectation that he’s going to get compared in every game to every player that is remotely like him, especially when one of those guys was drafted right behind him last June.
Enter Evan Turner and the Philadelphia 76ers.
But a head-to-head look isn’t exactly apples vs. apples, not when Wall is averaging 39.0 minutes per game and is a lock to start every game where he can stand on two legs – like tonight. Turner has come off the bench in all three games thus far for the Sixers, averaging 27.3 minutes in a backup backcourt role.
Still, given the current rebuilding state of both teams, their matchup will headline tonight’s Wizards home opener.
The lines:
Wall: 21.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 9.0 apg
Turner: 8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
The Philly Inquirer gives a good perspective on the matchup here.
“Evan has done great,” said Sixers head coach Doug Collins this morning after Philadelphia’s shootaround. “From where he started this summer in Orlando, I’ve spoken about this a lot, I think a lot of these young guys who are lottery picks get behind the eight ball early in their careers because they really don’t play for about 90 days because they can’t get hurt. I know John Wall had a very, very good summer. But a lot of the guys that don’t get a chance to play much, they behind a little bit in the summer time. I told Evan it was a tough eight days for him, but I think it was the best eight days he’s ever had because it taught him what this league was about, what he was going to have to do. From that point on, he worked extremely hard. He’s a very, very good player. He’s not going to dazzle you with numbers, but he assists, he arguably might be our best rebounder behind Elton Brand, and just a very good defender. We’re very happy with Evan. He’s done a really nice job for us.”
“He’s playing with the ball a lot,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders, “almost as kind of a point guard at times. He’s in a tough situation because the guys ahead of him are playing pretty good. Lou Williams is playing unbelievable, and [Andre] Iguodala is going to play a lot of minutes, and [Jrue] Holiday has played pretty well for them.”
Asked about his perspective on coming off the bench, Turner said: “This is only opportunity I have so I really don’t get to choose. But definitely, any time you come in, you want to help your team and contribute.”
Turner said he hasn’t kept an eye on the production of his fellow rookies.
“I’m on a busy job myself,” he said. “When you’re working as much as I am, you barely get to watch TV and stuff and so I really haven’t kept up with anybody else. Craig Brackins is on the team so I see his development, and I just worry about my teammates and myself.”
Wall has already faced premier point guards Derrick Rose and Bradon Jennings in the preseason, and he’s well aware that his matchup is going to be a major topic of discussion prior to every game.
“The key thing I gotta do is try to get wins like him,” said Wall when asked about Jennings after the Milwaukee game. “He got his team into the playoffs last year, and they had a big explosion. I’m not trying to say I’m going to have a big game or I’ll match him to his rookie year, but I just want to do what he did and help this team get to the playoffs.”
When it comes to the rookies, it’s important to keep in mind that today’s NBA is a world where 2003 draft buddies LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh conspired to play together when the chance presented itself. Today’s NBA players are as much friends off the court as they are opponents on it.
As I wrote in today’s print edition, that doesn’t mean Wall working behind the scenes to get on the same team with Turner. Saunders certainly isn’t worried about tonight’s game devolving into a one-on-one battle. His evaluation of Wall after two games:
“He’s been okay. The last game was good, he got his confidence going with his shooting. I think the first night, as I told some people, that was probably the worst opening night for a point guard, going against a good Orlando team that’s got the most dominating big man in the paint [Dwight Howard], that Likes to get to the basket where he can kind of just plug everything up so much. He made good adjustments our last game, made good adjustments from the first half to the second half in the Atlanta game, and I think John is just worrying more about himself and what he has to do, than about who he’s playing against.”
