Star guard’s confidence sky-high after winning rookie challenge MVP
The Wizards concluded their first practice after the All-Star break by running baseline to baseline layup lines, a conditioning drill coach Flip Saunders said was meant to “blow their lungs out” after five days off.
It had little effect on John Wall. After his MVP performance in the rookie challenge at Staples Center on Friday, Wall soared and swung on the rim with dunks to finish the last two sets despite having just arrived back on a flight from Los Angeles early Monday morning.
“Today his confidence was sky-high,” Wizards guard Nick Young said. “He was the best player in practice. He came out like he was ready to go. Winning MVP boosted his confidence, and that’s what we needed.”
A spring in the rookie point guard’s step is indeed welcome as the Wizards (15-39) begin the final stretch of the season with four games in five nights. A boost for center JaVale McGee also would be nice coming off placing second in a slam dunk contest that, in hindsight, he had no chance of winning.
| Up next |
| Pacers and Wizards |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| When » Tuesday, 7 p.m. |
| TV » Comcast SportsNet |
“I think JaVale, he probably won the dunk contest. If you look at [it], he did two dunks that probably no one else can do,” Saunders said. “I thought he had a great performance. He might’ve had to do a 720 from the free throw line to beat Blake Griffin.”
Washington’s record road losing streak also seemed impossible to overcome, but the Wizards snapped it before the break and have returned with fewer casualties.
“Obviously, we’ve played pretty well on the defensive end at home,” said forward Rashard Lewis, who expects to play against the Pacers (24-30) after missing the previous three games with right knee tendonitis. “We gotta do that out on the road. But being a young team, we can’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again.”
Washington isn’t completely injury-free, as veteran guard Kirk Hinrich didn’t practice Monday and said he was scheduled Tuesday to get an MRI on his injured right calf. But Al Thornton and Josh Howard will help stabilize the small forward position while Young also should return after sitting out Washington’s final game before the break with a sore left knee.
“Really just get more team chemistry,” Young said of the team’s goals for the final 28 games. “Get some wins and stay playing hard. We just gotta continue to play hard, and try to make the biggest push we can. If we can’t do it, we just can’t do it.”
