The Wizards aren’t in danger of missing the playoffs unless something drastic happens, but they are falling fast in the East pecking order. Which means it’s even more important to hear the latest involving John Wall, and it’s positive news for Washington; he has begun hard scrimmaging for the first time since his arthroscopic left knee surgery two months ago.
The Wizards have lost two straight and seven of their last 11 without Wall, their playmaker and perhaps best defender. Overall they’re 14-10 while missing Wall, who hasn’t played since Jan. 25, which on the surface is rather solid, given the difficulty of the Wizards’ schedule during that stretch. But they clearly miss his leadership, scoring and presence.
They’ve managed to get by largely on the All-Star performance from Bradley Beal and a collective effort by everyone else, yet the Wizards need to be whole in order to advance in the East playoffs, even with the injury issues plaguing the Celtics and the inconsistent play of the Cavaliers.
Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington spoke to Wizards coach Scott Brooks and his this update about the Wizards and the pending return of Wall:
Wall went through 5-on-5 scrimmages with teammates that included contact. He is free of restrictions. Now it is only a matter of days before Wall is ready to return to game action.
“John did everything, he did an entire practice which was great,” head coach Scott Brooks said. “I thought he did a great job offensively and defensively.”
Wall, who last played on Jan. 25 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, has missed the Wizards’ last 24 games. He has been absent for 35 of their 72 total games this season.
In the months he has been out, Wall has slowly worked his way to this point. He still has to get a few more practices under his belt before the Wizards can outline a target date for his return.
Wall was aggressive in testing his knee by attacking the basket, according to Brooks. Wall was moving around well and even lost a few pounds during his time off.
“He looks great and that’s not easy with time off,” Brooks said. “He will be back in no time.”
