John Wall’s critics irk Wizards coach Randy Wittman

Washington head coach Randy Wittman had some bold words for critics of point guard John Wall.

Feb 28, 2013, 10:10 PM UTC

Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

It's true that John Wall's play has slipped of late. Since the All-Star break, the Washington Wizards point guard has averaged 29.6 percent shooting, 4.6 turnovers per game and has shown some not-so-swell body language following games.

Bullets Forever: Wall discusses his struggles

John Wall gives a terse interview after the Washington Wizards fell to the lowly Detroit Pistons. But when the media and fans alike take shots at Wall's recent struggles -- Michael Jordan's agent David Falk being the most open about downplaying Wall's importance to the Wizards -- it makes sense that head coach Randy Wittman would not take it lightly. Wittman went on 106.7 The Fan on Thursday, and had some pointed words for critics of his point guard, who is still only 22 years old and in his third NBA season.

From Bullets Forever’s Mike Prada:

“Hey, John Wall is huge for this team,” Wittman told 106.7 The Fan. “The people that want to bash John Wall have no idea how the game is being played and what his impact is on the game.”

To Wittman's point, the Washington Wizards guard has still been dropping dimes, and the team is still winning games, something that came at a much lower of frequency when Wall sat out the first 23 games of the season. They've gone 13-10 in 23 games with Wall and were 5-18 without him.

Sure, it’s never good when a star player is showing -- in front of reporters, no less -- that the shooting struggles are getting at him mentally. But as Wittman also mentioned in his radio interview, it’s about the Wizards learning to continue the fight when things aren’t going their way.