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The Wizards are one step closer to reaching a .500 record for the first time in years, and they have John Wall to thank for his massive improvement throughout the season.

Coming into last night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Wizards were obliterated by the Indiana Pacers on their first game of a back-to-back, and John Wall didn’t play particularly well against the league’s best defensive team. After the disappointing game, Wall talked about having to step up offensively by being more aggressive when attacking the basket. Thankfully for Wall and the Wizards, they didn’t have much time to think about the loss as they immediately played the Hawks back in the nation’s capital the night after.

Although he’s coming off a great stretch of games which earned him the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor, John Wall didn’t rest of his laurels. Wall came out strong right out of the gate and it became fairly obvious that Jeff Teague and Co. would struggle to stay in front of Johnny Basketball. Because of his back spasms, we haven’t seen John Wall attack the basket ferociously in a long time, but that didn’t seem to be an issue last night. Wall attacked the basket every chance he got, and once he started to heat up, his perimeter game opened up for everyone else.

These are the type of games that embody the player John Wall has become. Wall’s quickness is well documented, but his new found ability to shoot the ball has left defenses in shambles.

He’s consistently been the best point guard in the Eastern Conference this season and teams are finally beginning to take notice. John Wall has led his team to eight ‘W’s this month, which the Wizards franchise hasn’t done since the 80’s. This year’s Wizards team is a bit different than the one we’re accustomed to seeing, and it all started with John Wall.