The Washington Wizards are having to bounce back after some tough personnel calls that left them dealing with the immaturity of guys like Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. They have moved past those guys now though, and could be a team on the rise with a lot of young talent, and some solid veterans as well.
They brought in Nene, Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor and drafted Bradley Beal out of Florida, one of the highest rated prospects in this past summer’s draft. They can put a pretty decent starting five out on the floor when you throw in young point guard John Wall, but the Wizards will have to do without Wall for the first month of the season.
“The Wizards are calling it a "stress reaction" injury, which is probably a quick way of telling Wall's fans that his left knee has been overused of late. Wall is notorious for his love of offseason play, but "offseason play" and "offseason workouts" are two different things. And it's very possible that the former No. 1 pick's endless hours of summer time play may have worn out that knee in ways that a structured and strength-enhancing team-supervised workout wouldn't have.”
Wall’s injury will not require any surgery, but he will have to sit and rest it. He is slated to return on November 30, but who knows what kind of long-term damage he could be facing.
For a franchise looking to turn things around, this could be devastating. Wall should miss about 13 games and the season is not long enough for the Wizards to come back if they start 1-12. We all know how important it is to have a strong point guard running the offense.
For now, Washington will have to roll with A.J. Price and Shelvin Mack, but I am sure they are hoping their former number one overall draft pick will get back on the court as soon as possible and be ready to go.
Image: Washington Post
