We should not speak about John Wall in the past tense because he is still very much a part of the present. After determining that he had five non-displaced fractures in his left wrist and hand, Wall refused to put any timeline on a possible return as of Friday afternoon. His status for Saturday's Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks is day-to-day and will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future.
The cruel timing of John Wall’s injury
The Wizards guard was on the cusp of a national breakthrough before fracturing his wrist and hand.
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That’s understandable for many reasons. Wall told reporters on Friday that while the swelling in his wrist and hand had gone down, he hasn’t been able to do so much as dribble a basketball yet. Were this the regular season, Wall would likely be out several weeks to give the bones proper time to heal. As with any non-displaced fracture, there’s a possibility he could do further damage, which could affect his career long into the future.
Wall is obviously a gamer. He played in 219 straight games before missing Game 2, and he returned with little more than a tape job in Game 1 after his fall. Wall scored 12 points and had eight assists, five rebounds and three blocks after the injury, which has to go down as one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory.
Even without Wall, the Washington Wizards were within five points halfway through the fourth quarter of Game 2 before the Hawks pulled away late. The postseason version of the Wiz have proven to be tough and resourceful, but it's not a stretch to suggest their chances of advancing ride on whether Wall can play, and if he can be himself. Over the past five seasons, they're 10-40 without their point guard.
It seems obvious to say, but let’s say it anyway: The decision to play or not play should be Wall’s alone to make. Not only because he was proven correct that his injury was much worse than a “really, really bad sprain” -- as the team reportedly told him at first -- but also because it’s his long-term health that will determine the Wizards’ future.
It’s also completely understandable why no one, least of all John Wall, wants to see his season end like this. This postseason was his introduction to the national stage, and it’s beyond cruel to have it taken away at this moment.
While much of his work has been viewed only by local audiences and League Pass aficionados, Wall isn’t an overnight phenomenon. He’s made back-to-back All-Star appearances and led the Wizards to first-round wins in each of the last two seasons. That he’s accomplished this for a franchise that hasn’t reached the conference finals since 1979 and has only two series victories total in the 35 years between then and the Wall era only adds to his burgeoning legend.
As with most young point guards, Wall's first few seasons were uneven. But in his fifth campaign, he rocketed past the rising star phase of his career and is headed straight toward franchise player status. Still just 24 years old, Wall was second in the league behind Chris Paul in assists and has posted eye-popping numbers in the postseason: 17.4 points, 12.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds.
While he's not the shooter or scorer that Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook have become, Wall is very much in the elite point guard class. His passing numbers rate with CP3's and his defense has long been a strength. At the very least, Wall was well on his way to proving that he's the best of the Eastern Conference's talented young point guards.
He destroyed All-Star starter Kyle Lowry (who was admittedly not at 100 percent) in the first round and outplayed fellow All-Star reserve Jeff Teague in the opener against the Hawks. The only thing left for him to take his rightful place at the top of the pecking order was a conference final showdown with Kyrie Irving.
The John Wall that appears before us in 2015 is different than the one who played at Kentucky and markedly different than the player he was in his first two seasons. The speed that blinded college defenses is still there, but he now has a far greater understanding of when and how to use it to his advantage.
As Mike Prada illustrated, the old scouting report on Wall is well past its expiration date. He’s become a competent enough jump shooter that he’ll burn teams who go under the high screen on the pick-and-roll, and he’s also become more adept at reading angles and passing lanes. He can still get to the basket whenever he wants, but he’s completely in tune with the rest of his teammates. Wall has become the consummate point guard, whatever the phrase means in this day and age.
This is the version of John Wall we all hoped he’d become when he entered the league. Regardless of how this season turns out, that’s all still there for him. Until his status is determined we must resist the urge to speak of Wall in any tense other than the present. He’s still in the moment, however fractured it may be.
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