Who’s Better: John Wall Or Eric Bledsoe?

Can the student ever truly become the master? Jedi mind tricks aside, don’t be confusing anything: during his recruitment of Kentucky’s famed 2009 freshmen class, John Calipari straight up told Eric Bledsoe he’d never play point guard with John Wall, and straight up told him he’d never be the star, instead offering a secondary role that could limit his exposure. A few years later, Bledsoe ended up in Los Angeles, backing up Chris Paul, and had to be content with once-a-week SportsCenter highlights in blowout Clippers win.

One of his close friends, the aforementioned Wall, went No. 1 in the NBA Draft, then grabbed the keys to a franchise and now looks like a surefire All-Star this season.

Outside influences always saw Bledsoe as the little brother. But this year, his first as a legitimate starter and franchise cornerstone, Bledsoe is proving he’s more than that. While surgery to remove a piece of torn meniscus dulled the excitement over Phoenix’s newest star, his numbers still speak for themselves.

With an important second half of the season on his horizon, and with Wall gearing up for what will likely be a first All-Star Game, we’re asking the question. Who’s better right now: John Wall or Eric Bledsoe? We argue. You decide.

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JOHN WALL
Forget about their record, and forget about their last couple of seasons. If there’s one guy that can turn around the Washington Wizards, better believe it’s that man who they extended for five years last summer, the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, John Wall.

Although the Wizards haven’t seen the playoffs since the 2008 season, it couldn’t have come at a better time to lose in the ’09-10 season for a shot at acquiring the first overall pick in 2010. They knew that the days of Gilbert Arenas in his prime were long over. The locker room issues from the Arenas era might actually benefit the Wizards for long-term success. It gave them an excuse to trade away the troubled Agent Zero and develop their young prized possession, who’s now ready to explode.

In his first three seasons with the Wizards, Wall averaged 17 points per game along with 7.9 assists. After signing a five-year $80 million extension this summer, Wall is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 20.0 ppg and 8.5 apg, with nearly two steals per game this season. The statistics don’t lie; his consistency as a point guard will take him far as he’s proving his game has improved each year. With that said, there’s plenty of reasons why he’s always overshadowed his college backcourt mate at Kentucky, Eric Bledsoe.

When you compare John Wall to Eric Bledsoe, everyone knows that Wall is a proven point guard, who arguably has a good chance at making his first All-Star team this season. With the injury of Derrick Rose, Wall’s name truly belongs in the mix of the top three point guards in the Eastern Conference. Despite Bledsoe having a breakout season and earning a starting point guard job, he still isn’t a top five point guard in the West. Through 24 games that Bledsoe has played this season, Wall statistically is still having a better season, averaging more points, assists and steals per game than Bledsoe.

Standing three inches taller, Wall has a better fit body for an NBA player than Bledsoe, being more lengthy and heavier for a point guard. Wall can also defend the bigger guards that Bledsoe can’t at this level. Before the NBA, he was still better statistically than Bledsoe in college. It didn’t surprise me that coach John Calipari believed in building a team around the nation’s No. 1 high school prospect in the class of 2009. He seemed to always run the offense through Wall as the top option as he led the Kentucky Wildcats in scoring during his only season as a freshman.

You don’t have to ask Gilbert Arenas again, but if you want to speed up and really see John Wall’s full potential, maybe he needs to play in a high-paced offense, or needs to be surrounded by proven NBA veterans to make his game better. So far, playing with a young backcourt mate like Bradley Beal doesn’t seem to be bringing out the best of John Wall as a winner. Just look at how Rajon Rondo is struggling to win and be elite again without the veteran leadership he’s been accustomed to. Rondo makes it easy to see how Wall would explode if he were surrounded by proven veterans to show him the winning ways to becoming an elite point guard in the NBA.
-TERENCE CHIN

Keep reading to hear the argument for Bledsoe…

ERIC BLEDSOE
Eric Bledsoe has grown out of the shadow his former Kentucky teammate kept him in. We now have a full-fledged debate between two of the league’s best young point guards. The greatest shame of this entire conversation is with Bledsoe hurt, we likely won’t see the two face off this season. Now Wall is the bigger name, and Bledsoe is having his breakout season on a Suns team that only has one nationally televised game.

First off let’s talk about efficiency. Bledsoe is the lesser distributor no doubt, but when it comes to scoring, Bledsoe is significantly more efficient.

Bledsoe: 18 PPG, .486 FG%, .350 3PT%, .587 TS%, .161 WS/48
Wall: 20 PPG, .423 FG%, .325 3PT%, .522 TS%, .131 WS/48

Wall in an erratic scorer — even in a career year, does a 31 percent outside shooter scare you much?

Further backing up the raw and advanced statistics, Synergy ranks Bledsoe 118 and Wall 256 in points per possession. Some might argue that Wall is better with the ball in his hands, but as we look closer, is that true? In isolation sets, Bledsoe ranks fifth, yes, fifth in points per possession. Wall ranks very far away at 61, despite being heralded for his ability to get to the rim. On the pick-n-roll, Bledsoe ranks 28th while Wall ranks 81. So who do you want to run your offense? I want the player who scores for efficiently and is significantly more successful scoring in space, and making the best of a pick-n-roll scenario.

Also, in a garbage Eastern Conference, the Wizards are a game under .500. In a highly competitive Western conference, the Suns are seven games over .500. The top playing lineup for the Suns — Bledsoe – Goran DragicP.J. TuckerChanning Frye Miles Plumlee — is plus-57 this season. The top playing lineup for the Wizards — Wall – Bradley BealTrevor ArizaTrevor BookerMarcin Gortat — is minus-17. Still think Wall is the more competent floor general?

I wouldn’t give a ton of credit to either player defensively this year. However, Bledsoe has been credited in the past as above average defender, while Wall has been heavily criticized his entire career.

The other thing I want to talk about is growth. Wall was gift-wrapped a starting job from day one. Bledsoe had to earn every minute in his career and just finally got his shot. Both players are in year four of their careers.

Wall has been criticized heavily for his shooting woes. In his four-year career, he’s improved his field goal percentage by one lonely percent, and his three-point shooting by three percent. He’s never been to the playoffs and the Wizards continue to struggle despite a completely new regime. Bledsoe, on the other hand, has gone 16 and eight with the Suns in his first 24 games in the vastly superior conference. The Suns had the same number of wins with Bledose as the Wizards had with Wall at a point where the Wizards had played nine more games. Bledsoe, in his first season with the Suns, is shooting career-high percentages across the board, field goal, three-point and free throw, along with per game numbers in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

I look forward to seeing a encore from Bledsoe when he returns from injury. This is a guy who’s still developing and we haven’t see his best product yet.
-JOSH EBERLEY

Which player is better right now?

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