Sprung: The evolution of John Wall begins with his jump shot

After his team’s second win in three nights in the city of New York, John Wall was dressed impeccably in the visitors’ locker room, down to his $1,100 Red Bottom shoes, which elicited gawks and compliments from players and onlookers alike. But one thing was missing to complete his look: his gray bow tie. Unable to get help from teammates, Wall said the final piece to his outfit would have to wait.

Wall seems to be as dedicated to his performance on the court as he is to his fashion, but his game, just like his postgame outfit, is incredibly impressive, yet still seems to have a piece or two missing.

Wall’s quickness and athletic ability cannot be denied, and that has manifested itself statistically. Wall is one of just three players this season averaging at least 19 points and nine assists per game. Chris Paul and Stephen Curry are the others.

“We trust that our point guard, our maestro John is gonna do the right thing and he’s done a great job of that,” said Wall’s Wizards teammate Martell Webster. “He’s been very consistent.”

However, you could tangibly see the statistical improvement in Curry over the course of his career, which cannot currently be said of Wall. Take a look at his basic stats over the last three years:

“I think I’m just improving my shot and working with guys on my team that want to see me be a better shooter, and me putting in the time with those guys,” Wall told Sheridan Hoops.

Ahh, his shot. No one ever questioned Wall’s ability to slash to the basket, distribute and defend. But it’s the jumpshot that separates Curry from Ricky Rubio, or Curry from Wall for that matter. Wall has made some strides with his three-point shot, improving from 7.1 percent two years ago to 32.6 percent as of Thursday. That’s still not a good number by any measure from a guard, but it’s getting there.

“As it was last year, he’s continuing to get better and better,” Washington head coach Randy Wittman said. “He puts a lot of work into it, so I think we’re seeing that. And he’s got more and more confidence each day in not only his shot but the 3-point shot and taking it when it presents itself.”

Taking shots when it presents itself, more popularly known as shot selection, is something Wall is working on. Wall said he was working with assistant coach Sam Cassell, someone who had a ton of success as an NBA point guard and can guide Wall in the right direction. “He’s been helping me master my mid-range, just doing the right things,” Wall said.

So where exactly does Wall take his shots? NBA.com has a wonderful feature showing players’ shot charts and distribution. Here is Wall’s shot selection, for the world to see:

As you can see, Wall’s shot selection still leaves a lot to be desired. Just 44.08 percent of Wall’s shots came from 16 feet or fewer, according to NBA.com. Chris Paul, for example, took 52.07 percent of his shots from that distance. But the real problem is the mid-range jumper, or shots taken between 16 and 24 feet from the basket. Just over 34 percent of Wall’s shots were the doomed mid-range jumper, as opposed to just 21.49 percent of Paul’s shots.

“John’s done a great job picking his spots, when to be aggressive and when not to be,” said Garrett Temple, Wall’s point guard understudy. “And staying in that mid-range jump shot. Obviously when he hits those, he feels good about shooting the three as well.”

But how often has Wall been hitting these mid-range shots? Not as often as he would like, according to the NBA.com numbers.

In the color-coded areas, green means the numbers are above the league average, yellow signifies shooting at a league average percentage and red means below league average. So Wall is a below-average mid-range shooter in three of the five areas on the floor between 16 and 24 feet. He’s also only an average shooter from within eight feet, which is also troubling, and he’s clearly still a work in progress from three.

So what’s the next step for the evolving John Wall?

“Obviously his next evolution is coming off that screen, and when they go under, being able to knock that [jumper] down with consistency,” Temple said. “So he’s going to pick his spots, he’s going to understand what to work on and he’s done a great job of that so far. When he feels good, he could knock that [3 pt shot] down.”

So has Wall been trying to improve in practice?

“Obviously,” Webster said, “And he’s done it. Now the next step is just to continue to consistently knock down the jump shot. If they’re going to continue to go under them, then he needs to continue knocking down that 17-footer.”

Or perhaps, as the numbers have shown, start to knock down those shots with far more regularity.

“He’s going to continue to keep working on that shot and keep continuing to be a leader,” Temple said. “He’s being more vocal this year, and it’s led over to his game. He’s definitely playing at an All-Star caliber level right now, and hopefully he keeps it up.”

So as Wall looks to develop his game and really ascend to the elite level of NBA point guards, he’s going to have to learn to tie that bow tie. Or in this case, choose the right shots to take and then consistently knock them down.

Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for Sheridan Hoops who loves advanced statistics and the way they explain what happens on the court. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. His website is SprungOnSports.com. You should follow him on Twitter.