Wall underwent an operation on his heel in January and the Wizards revealed he suffered an infection in the initial incision from the procedure.

However, while recovering at home, the five-time All-Star slipped and fell, resulting in an Achilles rupture that is set to sideline him for a year.

Washington are 10th in the Eastern Conference, but their hopes of reaching the NBA playoffs have taken a huge hit, as we use Opta numbers to see just how key Wall is to their success.

ON THE CLIMB

Since he was picked first overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall has swiftly chased down numerous Wizards records.

The 28-year-old has registered 5,282 assists and 976 steals in Washington colours, ranking him first for the franchise in both categories. Meanwhile, he has 10,879 points, third for the Wizards all-time.

Wall has not featured since the 106-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons on December 26, but he has tallied 20,545 minutes (second in franchise history) in 573 games (seventh) during his career.

CHANGING STYLES

The Wizards certainly play differently when Wall is on the floor, with the most striking contrast being the team’s approach to field goals. With Wall in action, 62.1 per cent of their field goals are assisted. This drops remarkably to 25.3 per cent when the starting point guard is absent.

Washington also produce more points from outside the arc when Wall plays, averaging 30.2 per cent of their points from beyond the three-point line when he is involved, compared to 23.1 per cent when he is not.

There are smaller changes in relation to where the remainder of the Wizards’ buckets come from, too. With Wall off court, 14.9 per cent of their points come from fast breaks, while 45.2 per cent are scored in the paint. Both numbers are slightly up from 12.5 per cent and 43.5 per cent respectively when the five-time NBA All-Star is in action.

BEAL’S PRODUCTION

Perhaps most concerningly for the Wizards, Bradley Beal - the team’s other star - does not fare as well when Wall is out of action.

The 25-year-old shooting guard averages 18.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game when in tandem with Wall. On his own, Beal produces 13.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

In fact, Beal’s career statistics suffer in almost every category when Wall is not on the court. Beal attempts less three-pointers (5.7 compared to 3.8) without Wall, while almost making fewer steals (0.9 to 0.8) and blocks (0.8 to 0.2).

However, Beal has tried to fill the void left by Wall’s absence of late. Since his back-court partner was hurt against the Pistons, he has scored 20 or more points in 16 of his 18 outings, the last of them Monday’s 137-129 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

0 votes