J-Speaks: Wizards Lose All-Star Lead Guard For Remainder of Season: Lose Key Forward For Six Weeks

The start of the 2018-19 season has consisted of nothing but issues for the Washington Wizards. They have underperformed mightily as a team, especially on the defensive end, especially rebounding wise. Their cohesion as a unit has been rocky at best and they have dealt with injuries. The bad news continued to close out 2018 as two very important cogs will be missing in action with their most important player gone for the remainder of the season. 

Last Saturday, the Wizards announced before their 130-126 loss versus the Charlotte Hornets (18-19) that five-time All-Star lead guard John Wall will undergo season-ending surgery to repair bone spurs in his left heel. The specific surgery according to ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk that the Wizards announced that Wall will have is “debridement and repair of a Haglund’s deformity and a chronic Achilles tendon injury in his left heel.

The surgery according to ESPN’s NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski will take place in the coming days.  

“John is without me saying it. You guys know it, he’s an elite talent,” Wizards’ head coach Scott Brooks said to the media before the game last week. “Scorer, playmaker.”

The 28-year-old met with specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, the associate team physician of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers a week ago about the issue, which has bothered him for more than a year. After weighing a whole bunch of options with a guy whose client list also includes Carolina Panthers starting quarterback Cam Newton, two-time league MVP Stephen Curry of the defending back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors and his teammate Kevin Durant and former New York Yankees future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, it was determined that in order for the heel of the No. 1 overall pick 2010 to be right again, surgery was the best option. 

Wall tried to play through the injury but the pain just became unbearable, a source close to the situation told ESPN and having surgery now will allow Wall, whose massive contract extension that he signed in the summer of 2017 begins next season to return healthy for the start of the 2019-20 season. His expected recovery time is six to eight months. 

Wall, whose was averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists, playing in 32 of the Wizards 36 games this season looked like his All-Star self at times like when he had 40 points and 14 assists in leading the Wizards to a 128-110 win versus the Los Angeles Lakers (21-18) on Dec. 16, 2018. 

There were other games where the pain and swelling made it difficult for him to anywhere close to effective like when he scored one point with six assists and four rebounds, going 0 for 5 from the field in the Wizards 116-101 loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-31) on Dec. 8, 2018. 

To put into context the injury problems Wall has dealt with the last two seasons, he missed the Wizards 107-96 win at the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 5, 2017 because of right shoulder soreness. He missed nine games because of a left knee issue from Nov. 25-Dec. 12, 2017. He missed 28 games from Jan. 27-Mar. 29, 2018 because of surgery to repair that same left knee and now will miss the final 46 games of this season to repair that injured left heel, and a total of 50 games this season. 

Along with losing their starting floor general for the rest of the 2018-19 season, the Wizards, who sit below the playoff line now at 15-24 announced on Thursday that forward Markieff Morris, who was diagnosed with transient cervical neurapraxia and will be shelved for at least the next six weeks. 

Morris who has missed the Wizards’ last three games injured his neck when he was knocked on his chin during the team’s aforementioned tilt against the Lakers and reaggravated the injury the day after Christmas in the team’s 106-95 loss at the Detroit Pistons (17-19). 

The 29-year-old Philadelphia, PA native saw back specialist, Dr. Andrew Dossett out of Dallas, TX who diagnosed the injury after an MRI. He will be limited to non-contact basketball activities only and the team said that Morris is expected to be cleared to return to full basketball activities in six weeks. 

Wall’s absence, coupled with the loss of Morris for the time being and the loss of free agent acquisition in eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard, who played in just nine games this season because of a lumbar surgery that will keep him on the shelf for possibly two more months. 

The good news for the Wizards is this is not foreign territory for them since Wall missed half of the team’s 82-game schedule mostly because of surgery on his left knee. 

Taking the place of Wall last season was now third-year reserve guard Tomas Satoransky, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 assists in 30 games as a starter on 53.2 percent shooting and 50.8 percent from three-point range. 

In the five games that the 28-year-old Second-Round pick in 2012 has started this season at the lead guard spot, he has averaged 13.6 points, 5.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds on 47.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range. 

In the Wizards win versus the Hornets one week ago when the team announced that Wall was going to be lost for the remainder of the season, Satoransky had 20 points with six assists, going 4 for 7 from three-point range, with just one turnover. 

On Wednesday in the team’s 114-98 win versus the Atlanta Hawks (11-27), Satoransky had 14 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, seven assists and just one turnover.

The spot light really falls though on the other half of the Wizards starting back court in All-Star Bradley Beal to perform and he has numbers wise. 

In that aforementioned win at the Lakers, one of Wall’s last games of this season, the No. 3 overall pick in 2012 had 25 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 4 for 9 from three-point range. 

He was instrumental in helping the Wizards end their two-game losing streak where he authored the first triple-double of his career with 40 points, a career-high 15 assists and 11 rebounds in helping the Wizards to a 149-146 triple-overtime win versus the Phoenix Suns (9-31). 

While he scored 19 points, going just 7 for 19 from the field, including 1 for 6 from three-point range versus the Hornets a week ago, Beal had six steals. 

In this past Wednesday’s victory versus the Hawks, Beal had 24 points, six assists and two steals, going 3 for 7 from distance. 

“We have enough (on this team) to win, even with the guys we have out,” Beal said of the Wizards getting as healthy as they can and get back on the winning track to the media after the victory versus the Hornets. “It’s a matter of us putting it together and just doing it.” 

“That’s the main objective for everybody and the most important thing for everybody is taking care of yourself and making sure that you’re health. So, whatever it may be, no matter who it is take care of yourself first and its next man up. That’s why we have 15 guys on the team, you know. For situations like this and for guys to step in and be ready to go.”  

Along with Beal and Satoransky, the Wizards will need the likes of Otto Porter, Jr., Jeff Green and veteran sharp shooter and defensive ace Trevor Ariza, who they Wizards acquired in the middle of December for Kelly Oubre, Jr., and Austin Rivers to raise their levels of play as well. 

“We’re going to need everybody,” Coach Brooks said of the entire team stepping up to replace Wall’s production. “We don’t have him. We need everybody to step up and step in to a role that they’re going to enjoy because their going to play more minutes, and they’re going to get opportunities.”

Ariza has scored in double-figures in five straight games, with a high of 24 points, with seven rebounds and nine assists, hitting four threes versus the Hornets. 

Porter Jr. who returned this past Wednesday from a 10-game absence due to a bruised right knee scored nine points in 13 minutes off the bench. 

Green, who signed a one-year deal with the team in this past off-season has four straight game scoring in double-figures and has filled the stat sheet in each. Versus the Hornets he had 13 points, seven boards, seven assists, three block shots and two steals. In the win versus the Hawks, the 11-year pro out of Georgetown University had 22 points, six boards and six assists, going 4 for 8 from three-point range. 

One player who has just been flat out doing it for the Wizards is second-year center Thomas Bryant who in the 23 starts he has made is averaging 9.5 points and six rebounds on 67.9 percent from the field. 

He really came up large in the aforementioned triple-overtime win versus the Suns where he had a career-high night with 31 points and 13 rebounds on perfect shooting from the field at 14 for 14 and 3 for 3 at the charity stripe. 

Only the late great Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin sank more shots without a miss making 18, 16 and 15 shots in different games in his career. 

At one point in from the first into the second overtime, Bryant scored 16 of the Wizards 18 points in that stretch. 

“It’s amazing,” the No. 42 overall pick in 2017 said of his shooting performance. “I had no idea. I was just in the flow of the game. I just let the game come to me, and as soon as I felt like I was in the rhythm of it, I just went out and took it.” 

In two of the Wizards last three games Bryant has garnered double-doubles with 21 points and 10 boards in the win versus the Hornets and 16 points and 15 rebounds, with two steals and two block shots versus the Hawks. 

With all the things that the Wizards have gone through this season, a lesser team might have completely fallen apart and punted on this season, especially with the loss of such a dynamic player in John Wall for the rest of this season. 

The prospects of the Wizards making it back to the playoffs do not look good at the moment despite the confidence they have right now in themselves and the fact that they are in the Eastern Conference. 

When Wall went down last season, they were in the playoff mix in the East. Right now, they are on the outside looking in at 4.5 games behind of all teams the Brooklyn Nets (19-21) for that No. 8 and final playoff spot. 

Their upcoming schedule is not in the Wizards favor as for the next 24 days in January, their next five games are at the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-13), who is in No. 2 in the West currently; a home-and-home set with the Philadelphia 76ers (25-14), who are No. 4 in the East; versus the NBA leading Milwaukee Bucks (27-10), who not only lead the Eastern Conference, but by percentage points have the best record in “The Association” and versus the No. 2 team in the East Toronto Raptors 28-12). The only other games in January that are considered winnable are versus the New York Knicks (10-29); versus the Detroit Pistons (17-19), who are in a virtual tie with the Nets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East; at the Orlando Magic (17-21), one game out of the No. 8 Seed and at the Cavaliers. 

“So, we’re going to find out are they going to be able to hang in there, make a push or is this team going to get absolutely steamrolled,” Haywood said. “So, we’ll find out within the next seven games.” 

So far, the Wizards have begun this seven-games stretch splitting the first two with a 1-1 mark.  
As for the long term, the Wizards are tied to Wall as he signed that massive four-year, $170 million super-max contract extension on July 26, 2017. 

Year one of that deal began this season where he will make $19.17 million. That will go up to $37.8 million in the 2019-20 season. Up to $40.82 million in 2020-21. That will be followed by $44.85 million in 2021-22 and the fifth year of $46.87 million is a player option.

As Candace Bucker, who covers the Wizards for The Washington Post put it to the NBATV crew of Chris Miles, David Griffin, Brendan Haywood last week, “They are locked to John Wall and John Wall is locked to them.” 

“So, now matter what happens this year, playoffs or not John Wall will be back and he’ll be here for the long term into his 30s.” 

This is the part of the season where the Wizards will stay in postseason contention or see that chance slip away heading into the All-Star break. 

“You’re not going to have a season where everything goes the way you want, never,” Coach Brooks said after the Wizards 101-92 loss versus the Bulls. “Never. You never will as a player and you never will as a coach. Sometimes in the most difficult of situations, you find things you didn’t think you had.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/29/18 “American Express Halftime Report” of NBATV’s game between the Golden State Warriors versus Portland Trail Blazers with Chris Miles, David Griffin, and Brendan Haywood and the 12/30/18 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia; 12/29/18 www.espn.com story, “Wizards’ John Wall to Have Season-Ending Surgery on Left Heel,” by Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski; 12/29/18 www.nba.com story, “Wizards say John Wall Will Have Season-Ending Heel Surgery;” 1/3/19 www.espn.com story, “Wizards’ Markieff Morris to Miss At Least 6 Weeks with Neck Issue;” https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/WAS/2018_games.html; www.espn.com/nba/standings; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/id/401071161;  www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/4237/john-wall; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6580/bradley-beal; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6621/tomas-satoransky; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3934723/thomas-bryant; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/2426/trevor-ariza; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/2594922/otto-porter-jr.; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3209/jeff-green; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/id/401071161; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wall_(basketball)#2017-18_season.