The Washington Wizards have the already difficult task of taking on the No. 1 seed Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but to make matters even more challenging; their All-Star point guard just suffered a significant injury. John Wall is dealing with five non-displaced fractures in his left hand and wrist. This poses a serious problem for the Wizards’ from this point forward.
Wall has such a large impact on the offensive end of the floor and as seen in game two, the Wizards struggled with his absence. On the court, he finds ways to score efficiently, whether it be slashing to the basket or pulling up for a jump shot. Wall also has great court vision and gets his teammates involved in the offense. The guard possesses a knack for picking apart and exploiting the weaknesses of opposing defenses. On the other end of the court, he hustles back on defense, steps up on shooters, and does a good job of forcing teams into committing turnovers. The Kentucky product is twelfth in the league in steals, averaging 1.7 each game. On the whole, Wall is a special player who makes so many crucial contributions for his team and the Wizards need his playmaking.
Even despite the elevated level of play and increased productivity from players such as Bradley Beal, Ramon Sessions, and Otto Porter as of late, the Wizards will have a hard time advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals without Wall. The maestro orchestrates the majority of his teammates’ scoring chances. Wall averages 10 assists per game, second only to Chris Paul, who averages 10.2. In addition, he also averages 17.6 points per game. Wall’s ability to score efficiently and still find a way to create better scoring opportunities for his teammates is what makes him such a gifted player and elite point guard.
Now even if Wall is able to play through the injury, he is still not one hundred percent. The Wizards need to be cautious with how they approach this circumstance. They may rest him for game 3 and after evaluate what measure need to be taken in order to progress from there. If Wall is able to suit up again at some point in this series against the Hawks, he is playing hurt and spectators can expect his playmaking skills will be debilitated. Whatever the case, the situation does not bode well for this team and the injury could not have happened at a more inopportune time. The Washington Wizards will really to dig deep and make some magic happened, more than just pull a rabbit out of a hat, if they hope to sneak past the Atlanta Hawks.
