WASHINGTON — When the losing really got bad for John Wall, he turned to another guy who once knew plenty about seeing his team's score listed on the right side.
That would be Oklahoma City Thunder forward and friend Kevin Durant, who won only 22 of his first 100 games in the NBA. That's even worse than Wall, who won 26 of his first 100 games as the Washington Wizards' point guard.
"I asked Kevin how he went through the tough times of losing to where he is now," Wall said in an interview with FOX Sports Florida. "And he just says that you got to be the first in the gym and the last to leave, and just keep working."
It has worked for Durant, a five-year veteran whose Thunder have become one of the NBA's best teams. And it looks to be starting to pay off for Wall, a second-year man.
Following Wednesday's 96-85 win at Cleveland, his Wizards (19-46) have won five straight and seven of their past nine.
"We're playing better as a team, playing hard, giving ourselves a chance against good teams," Wall said. "I think teams take us more seriously."
Perhaps so. In the past two weeks, the Wizards have beaten Chicago, Miami, Orlando and Milwaukee when the Bucks desperately had to win to make the playoffs. They won at Miami 86-84 on Saturday and will close the regular season against the Heat on Thursday night at the Verizon Center.
OK, so the Heat didn't use LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the last meeting, and Dwyane Wade played only three minutes before leaving for the night with a finger injury. But Wall still made quite an impression, handing out 13 assists.
"He's a great talent, one of the fastest point guards we have in this league," said James, the top pick in the 2003 draft, said of Wall, who went No. 1 in 2010. "He's going to continue to get better. I know he would love more success than he's having his first few years but he's going to continue to get better because he is a great young talent."
Wall, 21, is still raw but there have been signs recently that he's starting to even more find his groove. He's averaged 12.5 assists the past four games, a stretch that has seen him hand out 10 or more assists in four straight games for the first time in his NBA career.
Teammate James Singleton calls the 6-foot-4 Wall a "lightning bolt.'' But he's still learning how to best strike.
"He's got tremendous speed, and it's still unharnessed," said Heat forward Shane Battier. "Once he figures how to really utilize that speed, he's going to take it to an even higher level. He is a special, unique talent with his speed and his size. You look at how young he is. I think he's a player once he figures it out."
One way for Wall to do that is to improve his shot in order to keep defenses more honest. Wall, averaging 16.4 points and 8.0 assists, is shooting 42.3 percent.
Wall's midrange jumper is still shaky, although he believes it's better than it was last year. But his 3-point shooting is a disaster.
Wall is 3 of 42 from beyond the arc this season for a microscopic percentage of 7.1. He vows this summer when he trains in Los Angeles to improve his 3-pointer and his outside shooting in general.
"I just know this summer I need to work on my 3-point spot-ups because that's a lot of shots I get," Wall said. "I just got to be able to knock them down. . . . Any point guard is going to want to make them pay (when defenses play off a mediocre outside shooter). But you got to keep making them (to keep defenses honest). It's something I got to work on to get better in this league."
As for attacking the basket, that needs less work. Wall often can get to the basket even when defenders are playing far off him.
"He can definitely be one of the better players in the league, especially if he gets that shot down," said Washington forward Trevor Booker. "He's so fast and quick right now, he gets his buckets just exploding to the hole even though people still play off him. When he gets that midrange down, I think he'll be unstoppable. . . . He can be at the top definitely (of all NBA point guards). If he keeps working hard, I think he'll be No. 1.''
That's high praise. But Singleton does compare Wall to Chicago point guard Derrick Rose, who entered the NBA with speed but had to learn to use and a shaky jumper. Rose became MVP in his third season, 2010-11.
"Stat-wise, it doesn't matter," Wall said when asked about his numbers being not much different from when he averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 assists as a rookie. "Being in the playoffs, being an All-Star, being one of those top-five point guards, those are things I'm worried about… What you want to be known as a point guard is for winning games, and that's what I want to be known as.''
Wall is far from having that reputation. The Wizards went 23-59 last season and this year was lost after they started 4-20.
But there have been encouraging signs lately. Wall points to Washington's March 15 acquisition of big man Nene from Denver as being one key. Although Nene has missed 11 games because of injury since he reported after the deal, the Wizards are 6-4 when he has played.
Wall said the Wizards are "one or two pieces away" from being a playoff contender. But he then named three pieces he believes they need.
"I think another veteran big man, another wing player and maybe a two guard. Another strong two guard," Wall said. "And that's it."
Figure on the Wizards needing to get that done in the next two years to keep Wall happy. Wall is eligible to sign a contract extension in the summer of 2013 and can become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2014. He gave no guarantees when asked about his long-term future with Washington.
"I like being here, but you let the future hold its own," Wall said. "When the time comes, you see what the best situation is for you."
In the meantime, Wall is determined to work hard this summer and come back next season "an even better player." After all, he has lofty goals.
One is to eventually play with Team USA in future World Championships and Olympics.
"That's one of my goals, and, hopefully, I can reach that one day," said Wall, who said he could have interest in being one of the young players USA Basketball might select to work out this summer against the Olympic team.
Durant starred for Team USA in the 2010 World Championships and is a shoo-in to make the Olympic team. So there's something else Wall can ask his buddy about.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
