Dec 14, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) dribbles the ball past Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) in the second quarter at Verizon Center. The Clippers won 113-97. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Wizards have had a tough time winning games as of late, and it didn’t help that they were matched up against one of the most explosive teams in the NBA last night. Chris Paul led his Los Angeles Clippers to a dominating win over the Wizards, and he displayed why he’s the best point guard in the NBA during the process. Paul finished the game with 38 points on just 14 shot attempts, and even though John Wall had a good game of his own, he didn’t seem to like the notion that he “learned something” after Paul’s performance.

After the game, Randy Wittman told the media that John Wall “learned something tonight”, but Wall denied his coaches comments when asked if he learned anything from Paul:

Not at all. I think I did a great job of running my team in the floor game, trying to get guys shots and making plays. I think they just made more plays than us. He’s a heck of a point guard. You look at him, you try to take things from his game but they have a system, they run it. We have a system, we run it. They just made the more plays.

-quote via CSN Washington

John Wall has been playing on an elite level this season, and it doesn’t help when the head coach essentially tells us that he has a long way to go before catching up to Paul. Though John Wall isn’t on Chris Paul’s level yet, both players are competing so I don’t have much of a problem with either John Wall or Wittman’s comments. Chris Paul has mastered the role of running his team, and I think John Wall appreciates where Paul has gotten to in his career. Wall wants to be remembered as one of the league’s best point guards, and there’s no issue in taking bits and pieces from someone’s game that’s already accomplished what Wall is trying to become. Paul and Wall are two completely different players, but Paul’s remarkable play making is something every NBA player could learn from.

Wall has constantly talked about wanting to become the best point guard in the league, and he managed to compete fairly well with Paul, who currently holds that title. The shorthanded Wizards couldn’t come up with the victory, but Wall did have a good individual game. Wall finished the game with a stellar 24 points and 12 assists, but the lack of contributions around him definitely hurt. Without Nene or Bradley Beal, he’s forced to carry the team and the Wizards simply didn’t have enough firepower to compete against an elite level team last night.