Eight games remain in the Washington Wizards’ regular season. As they make their final playoff push, All-Star point guard John Wall could be ready to go by their next game.
Wall, who has been out of the lineup since having knee surgery on Jan. 31, will be available on the active roster for tonight’s road game against the Detroit Pistons (7 ET, NBA League Pass). But the Wizards said he will not play against Detroit.
Per Brooks, John Wall will be active and in uniform tonight, but will not play. #WizPistons
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) March 29, 2018
Candace Buckner of The Washington Post reports via Twitter that it seems he likely return to the court on Saturday:
So I’ve gathered that, barring any changes, it appears John Wall will not play tonight in Detroit. A return on Saturday at home against the Hornets looks promising.
Jeremy Hyman of Washington Wizards.com reports Wall went through shootaround with the team today and a final decision on Wall’s status will be made in a few hours:
After being sidelined for over two months, John Wall is nearing a return. He’s returned to full contact practice and has traveled with the team to Detroit. After Wednesday’s practice, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said Wall would participate in the team’s shootaround in Detroit and would be questionable for tonight’s game. There still could be one or two more final tests to pass for Wall to be cleared to return to a game, but it sounds as if it will be very soon. If it’s not tonight’s game, it certainly seems that a return Saturday would be inevitable. How many minutes Wall plays will be another thing to watch once he does come back, but the team will certainly get a boost just seeing him back in uniform.
There will likely be an update on Wall’s status around 5:30 p.m. tonight when Scott Brooks addressed the media.
Yesterday, Buckner reported that Wall is traveling with the team to Detroit and will participate in tomorrow’s shootaround:
Coach Scott Brooks would not say for certain if Wall will play against the Pistons in his first game since Jan. 25. But by listing Wall as “questionable,” his eight-week rehabilitation from left knee surgery appears to be coming to an end.
“He’s getting close,” Brooks said. “The next thing is game [action]. I know everybody’s excited. He’s definitely excited. He wants to get out there. He knows he has to continue to put the work in and we will all make the final decision.”
Brooks had previously indicated that Wall, the team, its medical staff, as well as the surgeon who performed the procedure would confer before finalizing the decision to let him play. Following the team’s Wednesday afternoon practice, Brooks revealed that meeting has yet to happen — at least with his involvement.
On Wednesday, Wall went through the abbreviated practice before the team chartered a flight to Detroit. When Brooks was asked if Wall’s performance in the Thursday shootaround would determine his availability for the game, Brooks said: “We’ll see.”
Wall went through some full-contact practices with the team this week and said he was “feeling great”, but was unsure when he’d play in a game again. Washington has dropped to sixth in the Eastern Conference at 41-33 and has eight games remaining after last night’s 116-106 win against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Wizards are 15-11 without Wall during his current absence — he last played on Jan. 25 — and 20-17 overall this season without him.
Wall’s session with reporters on Monday was his first in Washington since having surgery on his left knee. He said he lost about 10 or 15 pounds during his rehab, without intending to. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Kentucky had surgery on both of his knees before last season.
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