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Even though the Washington Wizards emerged victorious against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, thanks to a timely Paul Pierce buzzer-beater, it is hard to imagine they will win the series without point guard John Wall. In fact, with Wall expected to miss the rest of the postseason due to nondisplaced fractures in his wrist and hand, it is quite clear the Wizards will fail to advance to the conference finals.
Wall is still confident he can play, as long as the pain allows him to, but a report by ESPN’s Chris Broussard paints a far grimmer picture for Washington.
“Guys, I spoke with a Wizards executive earlier today, and while it’s not official, I was given the impression that it’s highly unlikely John Wall returns for this series, or even the postseason,” Broussard said before Saturday’s game. “They told me they are looking 10 years down the road, not the next game, not even the next series. If there’s any chance of him further injuring himself, they will hold him out.”
Clearly, this is the correct move by the Wizards. The face of the franchise cannot put Wall’s future in jeopardy simply to win one more game or one more series, especially when there is no guarantee Washington defeats Atlanta even with him on the court. Essentially, if team doctors tell head coach Randy Wittman and the Wizards’ executive team that there is a chance Wall further injures himself if he plays, then there is no way they will allow him to take the risk.
It is certainly an unfortunate situation. Washington has been playing outstanding basketball during the postseason. After marching right through the Toronto Raptors in four games, the Wizards had the look of a team that was fully capable of upsetting Atlanta. Even though there is still a possibility that they do advance, it is hard to imagine anything significant will occur without Wall’s 17.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game during the playoffs.
