Rookie one steal shy of first triple-double
John Wall swiped the ball from Jrue Holiday and raced down the court for a layup. A half-minute later, he was at it again, with Andre Iguodala as his victim. Then Wall dished the ball toward Nick Young in the corner, and when Young failed to convert — stepping out of bounds — Wall simply picked off Elton Brand on the next possession.
Three steals in 42 seconds.
“John’s a monster, man,” Al Thornton said after Wall came within one steal of a triple-double in Tuesday’s home-opening overtime win over Philadelphia. “He just keeps going and going and going. He showed that on the defensive end tonight. To come up with nine steals, that’s amazing.”
Besides tying a franchise record for steals, Wall also set himself apart from anyone who has come before him, becoming the first player in NBA history to have at least 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals. Only three others had ever tallied at least 20 points and 10 assists in their rookie home debut: Isiah Thomas (31-11 in 1981), Norm Nixon (24-10 in 1977) and Oscar Robertson (21-10 in 1960).
“That’s a great accomplishment, to be honest, but Oscar Robertson’s the only player to ever average a triple-double in a season,” Wall said. “That’s something that’s hard to do. It’s great to be in a category with him, but he already proved himself on this level and did everything. I’m still working. The first three games, that really doesn’t mean it. I still have 79 games.”
Despite his potential, the Wizards (1-2) don’t plan to lean on the 20-year-old that heavily all season. Washington coach Flip Saunders said they can’t.
“I think John’s going to be a guy that, just because of the way he plays in the open floor, he can get 17, 18, 19 [points a game],” Saunders said. “But that’s not the main part of his game. The main part of his game is his ability to make other players better.”
Wall also needs to cut down his turnovers — he had eight against the 76ers — but he’s the last guy who needs a reminder.
“The first thing that he talks about is not his stat line but the turnovers and what he’s got to do to get better,” Saunders said. “I think that’s more impressive than maybe his stat line.”
