John Wall played the entire second half in Game 5 in Toronto, a game that was within a few points (always single digits) one way or another, until midway through the fourth when Toronto went on a 12-0 run, created some space, and held on for the 108-98 win. As it has been all series, in the fourth the Wizards just could not generate points out of their half-court sets — in 22 half-court possessions in the fourth quarter, the Wizards scored on six of them in Game 5 (stats via Synergy Sports). Toronto pushed the ball, scored more on their chances, and took the 3-2 series lead.
What happened in the fourth? Part of it is John Wall got tired, which is why he went 2-of-7 shooting with a couple of turnovers in the fourth, something he admitted to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.“I definitely do, I feel like that,” Wall said when asked if he feels he can take over a playoff game at any point after the Wizards’ shootaround today. “But at the same time, I think last game I kinda like ran out of gas a little bit the last five minutes and I gotta do a better job of -- not taking time off -- but letting other guys create or create for other guys and let those guys make plays at times.
“So [during] those last five minutes, kind of like Game 4 here, I can have the energy to make plays for myself but also for my teammates. I think that kind of hurt us in the last game.”
Wall needs to trust his teammates. Which is both true and going to be harder to do Friday night in a must-win Game 6 at home.
Bradley Beal has made plays in transition in this series, and his catch-and-shoot game never went away, but he’s not been able to create — when he’s been the pick-and-roll ball handler the Wizards have scored a dreadful 0.667 points per possession. Beal is finishing, but not creating. Otto Porter will not play the rest of this series following surgery on his knee. That leaves Kelly Oubre, Markieff Morris, and Ty Lawson to create shots not generated by Wall.
All of which is to say: The Wizards need a couple big games from Wall if they are going to upset the Raptors and get out of the first round. To get that, coach Scott Brooks has got to find a way to get Wall a little more rest (they trusted Tomas Satoransky during the season and he held it down, Brooks should consider it again).
