The Washington Wizards should have their All-Star point guard, John Wall, back in uniform tonight. According to Turner Sports’ David Aldridge, all signs point to Wall playing vs. the Memphis Grizzlies (7 ET, NBA League Pass) — which would mark Wall’s first game since late November.
All signs point to @JohnWall returning for the Wizards Wednesday in D.C. versus the Grizzlies, per source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) December 12, 2017
The Washington Post‘s Candace Buckner reported after the Wizards’ 103-98 loss to the Brooklyn Nets last night that Wall is indeed closing in on a return:
While the Wizards lost, 103-98, to the Brooklyn Nets, Wall sat in his familiar spot as the first player on the bench next to the four coaches. Wall, who has missed nine consecutive games after having platelet-rich plasma and viscosupplementation injections in his left knee, recently returned to team practices and has shown progress. Depending on how Wall’s knee responds by Wednesday, he could “very likely” play on the second night of a back-to-back set against the Memphis Grizzlies at Capital One Arena, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Wall’s impending return provides encouraging news for a team otherwise reeling with problems — late-game inbounds plays have gone sideways, and postgame interviews have turned into veiled shots at players’ effort recently.
Wall has been out of Washington’s lineup to heal up from inflammation and discomfort issues in his left knee. The injury occurred when Wall made knee-to-knee contact with another player during Washington’s Nov. 7 loss to Dallas, according to the team statement. Wall, who averages 20.3 points and 9.2 assists, previously said fluid on his knee built up after he received IV fluids to deal with illness and migraines before the Wizards hosted Atlanta on Nov. 11.
Wall sat out on Nov. 19, a 100-91 loss at Toronto, but returned to play his usual starting role in matchups against Milwaukee and Charlotte. He had 31 points and 11 assists over 41 minutes in Washington’s 129-124 overtime loss to the Hornets on Nov. 22, but then didn’t participate in Friday’s practice.
He posted this photo early Tuesday morning on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcmM1ZfA6w-/?taken-by
The Wizards were 1-1 without Wall before his injury sidelined him and went 4-4 during his rehabilitation stretch, logging wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns during his absence. Fellow guard Bradley Beal has stepped up of late for the Wizards, notching two 30-plus point games over Washington’s last three games.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
