Houston Rockets: 5 Rockets who need to step it up

Houston Rocket who needs to step up #4: John Wall

John Wall appears to be almost all the way back to his pre-injury form. If you compare his per 36 minutes stats from 2013-14 to 2017-18, all of which were All-Star seasons, to his per 36 minutes stats from this season you’ll see that Wall is nearly back to his best.

                               FG%     3P%        2P%   FTA     FT%    AST  TOV  PTS

2013-2018:     43.6%   34%      46.3%   5.2   78.7%   9.9   3.9   19.9

2020-21:          44.1%   35.1%  48.8%   5.5   74.4%   7.2   4.0   23.6

The one area where Wall is still clearly lagging behind is in his hall-mark playmaking. The drop of 2.7 assists is something that needs to change if the Rockets are going to make it to the playoffs.

Part of the reason for Wall’s dip in passing is that he shared the court with James Harden to begin the season and the Rockets’ overall poor shooting has cost him a few dimes. However, since Harden was traded Wall has actually seen his assists per game go down to 6.9.

The Rockets need Wall to maintain his scoring and get back to his prior playmaking ways. With one more season under contract before a player option, the Rockets are hoping that Wall can juggle his duties as a primary scorer and playmaker to lead their attack.

All things considered, Wall’s first season in Houston, after an extended injury absence, has been fruitful. The Rockets will need more out of Wall if they’re going to be a serious playoff contender this season and in the future. He has what it takes to rise to the challenge but Wall still needs to step it up to take the Rockets to the next level.

Next: Rocket #3