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Washington Wizards: John Wall and his impending return

By Bronson Hope

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 03: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards reacts after shooting a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during the second half at Capital One Arena on January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 03: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards reacts after shooting a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during the second half at Capital One Arena on January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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John Wall is expected to return from his knee injury this coming week. Can the Washington Wizards get on the right track heading into the playoffs?

Coming into this season, many people expected the Washington Wizards to rival the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spots in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards were beginning to gain some traction early in the season when healthy.

However, just 18 games into the season John Wall had to sit out nine games due to left knee “discomfort”. He received injections to reduce the inflammation in his knee and the hope was he would return ready to play the full season out.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

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John Wall’s knee didn’t get better after returning from sitting out the first time. It was announced he underwent surgery on his left knee on January 30th after continued problems with it. The surgery was stated to “clean up” the area, and ease the pain of his knee.

It was reported that John Wall was expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks of the season. He has been out since January 25th playing in just 37 games this season.

Initially, the Wizards were playing some of their best basketball in Wall’s absence. The Wizards went 10-4 in their first 14 games without John Wall. This typically isn’t how a team plays when their best player is out for extended period of time.

The Wizards play a slightly different style when their leader is out. “Everybody eats”. Sharing the ball more, and giving everyone touches, there is much more ball movement. John Wall dominates the ball much more and the distribution mainly goes through him.

This increase in ball movement started out as a good thing for the Wizards which was helping them. However, as the season has progressed the larger sample-size has shown what the Wizards are missing.

Overall the Wizards are 21-17 without John Wall in the lineup. While this record is not bad by any means, it shows John Wall being healthy puts the Wizards on that next level with the top teams in the NBA.

As it stands, the Wizards sit in the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference.

What John Wall’s return will mean for the Wizards

If everything goes according to plan, John Wall will return to the lineup sometime in the near future, possibly this week. If so, this will give the Wizards optimal time to start to gel before the playoffs start.

Being in the lower half of the playoff standings in the East, the Wizards have a tough road ahead. Time will only tell if they are able to climb back into a playoff spot with home court advantage before the season ends.

Only two games back of the 4th seed, this is definitely still plausible, but time is running out.

The most interesting part of John Wall returning will be the style of play that the Wizards to chose to play at. John Wall‘s game is notorious for being ball-centric, and the distribution going through him driving in the lane and kicking it out. This is different from how the Wizards have been playing in his absence.

Will the Wizards resort back to let John Wall be the main distributor on the court? Or will they continue their Spurs and Celtics-like ball movement they have been while he has been out?

Only time will tell.

If the Wizards get John Wall back to playing at his best, and the rest of the team elevates their play as well, they will be a very tough low seed in the playoffs. As of right now, the Wizards would play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Wizards could provide the biggest challenge for the Cavaliers in the playoffs regardless of when they play. The Wizards always seem to elevate their play against the Cavs. With the Celtic’s injuries and the Raptors inconsistency in the playoffs, the Wizards could be the most likely team to dethrone LeBron from reaching the finals for the 8th straight year.

Must Read: 2018 NBA Draft: Every lottery team’s dream first-round selection

Regardless of who the Washington Wizards play, the most important factor is how much John Wall can return to form. John Wall playing at his best is the key to the Wizards advancing deep into the playoffs.

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