John Wall to miss 6 weeks and NBA All-Star Game with knee surgery, per report

Washington Wizards guard John Wall will undergo knee surgery Wednesday and is expected to miss six weeks, including the NBA All-Star Game, according to The Washington Post’s Candace Buckner. Wall’s operation is described as a clean-up procedure and not major.

Wall has been bothered by his left knee for months, and his stats have suffered as a result. The 27-year-old point guard is averaging just 19.4 points, 9.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game with a 51.1 percent True Shooting Percentage, all numbers that have fallen from his career year last season.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game would have been Wall’s fourth appearance, and third time playing in the game as a reserve. (He was voted in as a starter in 2015.) In his absence, the NBA, which decides all injury replacement matters, will likely elevate either Ben Simmons or Kemba Walker into his spot.

If Wall misses exactly six weeks, he could return March 13 in a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That absence would cost him 18 games.

Washington went 4-5 without Wall in the lineup earlier this year, and are 6-6 overall this season without him playing. Bradley Beal did set a career-high with 51 points on Dec. 5, one of the games that Wall was absent, but he wasn’t as consistent as the Wizards would have hoped during that nine-game absence.

Right now, Washington sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, with a 4.5-game lead over the Detroit Pistons, the East’s current No. 9 seed. That should be a big enough lead for the 26-21 Wizards to withstand Wall’s injury, as long as they can stay even and win about half their games. So, yes, Washington should still be in the playoff picture when Wall returns, barring any other major setbacks for the team.

On the other hand, the schedule won’t do Washington any favors.

Wall missed Saturday’s game against Atlanta to visit Dr. Richard D. Parker in Cleveland for a second opinion on his knees, which led to his decision to undergo surgery.

This is yet another problem with Wall’s knees, and that’s concerning. Wall missed nine games earlier this season after platelet-rich plasma injections, and he underwent cleanup surgeries on both knees during the 2016 offseason. Wall also missed the first 33 games of the 2012-13 season due to his left knee, although he did not have surgery. That injury was diagnosed as a non-traumatic stress injury, and Wall spent eight weeks rehabilitating it before returning to the court in January 2013.

Wall, at full strength like last season, is a physical force and a sensational player to watch. But these knee problems are adding up, and he’s only 27.