John Wall and Washington Wizards doctors clashed in a “rather intense argument” at some point after his Game 1 wrist injury was initially diagnosed as a bad sprain, according to the Washington Post’s Michael Lee.
John Wall, Wizards’ medical staff clashed over severity of wrist injury, according to report
Wall’s fractured wrist was originally diagnosed as a sprain, although head coach Randy Wittman denied the report.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Wizards coach Randy Wittman vehemently denied Lee’s story on Friday, though, calling it a “flat out lie.”
Wall was convinced the injury was more serious than that, and was eventually proven right when a third opinion on Thursday revealed he had five non-displaced fractures in his wrist and hand.
Wall stayed down in pain for several minutes in Sunday’s game after a hard fall, but finished the game with 18 points and 13 assists. The initial diagnosis was a wrist sprain and Wall was expected to play in Game 2, but that plan was scrapped shortly before the game started.
“I knew when I fell on it,” Wall told Lee. “You never know when you’ve got a lot of energy and power going down on the ground, so I thought I broke it. Kind of the same type of injury.”
Non-displaced fractures are hard to spot on X-rays and MRIs when there’s a lot of swelling. You can see how Wall’s hand and wrist ballooned to an unnatural size, which could explain the initial misdiagnosis of a wrist sprain.
As seen in Game 1, Wall can theoretically play with the injured wrist since it’s his non-shooting hand. But doing so increases the risk of displacing one of the bones, damaging the wrist further and requiring surgery. That’s why the best guess is that Wall cannot play.
As the Wizards look for multiple opinions on John Wall's fractured wrist/hand, there is not much optimism that Wall returns, I'm told.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) May 8, 2015 A possible return may depend on how long the Wizards can remain in the postseason. A Game 7 in their current series against Atlanta would be played on May 18, but even that might not be long enough for Wall’s wrist to recover enough.
Without Wall, the team's leader and the cog that makes their offense tick, the Wizards' hopes are slim against a 60-win Atlanta team that appeared to be finding its groove in Game 2. Bradley Beal looked healthy after a Game 1 injury of his own, but without Wall, it may not matter.
SB Nation presents: As the NBA playoffs intensify, so do the fights
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