John Wall knew he was following protocol. What he was doing came from pragmatic decision-making based in thoughts about his future. It’s his seventh season in the NBA, but he is still just 26 years old, a three-time All-Star who has at least one huge contract to come in his career, if not two.
So, he sat on the bench in Orlando in another one of his highly-stylized getups, this one a shirt buttoned to the top framed by blue plaid sport coat that would make a golfer blush. Wall was sitting out the second of back-to-back games for the first time this season. He and the Washington Wizards had planned on this following Wall’s two offseason knee surgeries. But as the game began to slip away, he thought, “I could suit up for the fourth quarter.”
He did not, and the Wizards lost. Wall did not play against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 12, the second game of their second set of back-to-backs, and the Wizards lost. There is a discernible trend here, one that may end in the middle of this week.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks and Wall said Tuesday that the team’s point guard could play both back-to-back games the Wizards have in front of them this week. Wednesday, they play against the 1-9 Philadelphia 76ers, the only team in the NBA which has a poorer record than the 2-7 Wizards. Thursday, Washington hosts the 4-6 New York Knicks. A busy end of the week wraps Saturday, when the 2-7 Miami Heat come to the District.
“The thing about John, he’s been progressing very well since we started training camp,” Brooks said. “We’re going to see how he feels [Wednesday]. It might be an opportunity for him to play maybe in both games with some limited minutes in one of the two. He had, and we had as a team, two good practices. He’s feeling good.”
Sitting back-to-back games had irritated Wall. Not because he didn’t think it was the right decision, but because he would much rather play.
Wall was not stagnant on the days he did not play. He took shots, lifted weights, ran on the anti-gravity treadmill, putting pressure on his knees the day after a game to measure their response. Each time, he felt good afterward.
“We’ll see how he feels [Wednesday],” Brooks said.
Wall explained at the end of last season how his knee pain led to a lack of lift. He mentioned that at times he did not dunk the ball, instead trying to lay it in, because his cranky knees did not provide proper spring. One specific instance is easy to recall: At the end of regulation against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 19, Wall broke away for what would have been a game-winning score. He tried to lay the ball up because he could not take off to dunk. Wall said after that game he should have dunked. He just did not explain then why he had not.
Wall sat out the finals six games of last season. He lauded the difference in his knees from then to now.
“It’s a 110 percent turnaround,” Wall said. “There’s no pain at all. I’ll be fine. Do cold tub, get treatment, then go home. I’ll be perfectly fine [after games].”
Bradley Beal may be joining Wall on the floor Wednesday. The Wizards’ shooting guard participated in “a good chunk of” practice Tuesday, according to Brooks. Beal has missed the last two games because of hamstring tightness. Beal slipped Nov. 11 against the Boston Celtics and left the game after playing 11 minutes. The Wizards have been cautious with him since.
“It’s still tender,” Brooks said. “We want to make sure that it’s 100 percent and feels good because you don’t want it to linger on throughout the year.”
Just the thought of Beal and Wall again paying together is a boost for the Wizards. Washington has started the season trying to properly match bench parts without their second-highest paid offseason signing, center Ian Mahinmi. Friday will mark five weeks since Mahinmi had knee surgery. At the time of the procedure, the Wizards projected a 4-6 week timeline for recovery, which means Mahinmi, who said late last week he was progressing well, will soon be in the mix. At five games under .500 just two weeks into the season, Washington will take all the reinforcements it can get.
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