LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 29: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards talks to the Los Angeles Lakers trainer before the game on November 29, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
John Wall is expected to miss this entire season as he works his way back from a torn Achilles’ tendon. His appearance during pregame warmups Monday night showed his rehab is going pretty well.
When he tore his left Achilles’ tendon back in February, it seemed like a foregone conclusion Washington Wizards point guard John Wall would miss this entire season. With the team in something of a rebuilding phase and Wall due to make over $40 million in each of the next two seasons, caution is the easy word. Playing 73 total games over the last two seasons further pushes a cautious approach.
Wall seems to be making steady progress in his recovery though. He started working out and shooting jump shots back in September, before moving to running on an elliptical. There have been no significant updates since then, but there also have been no reports of any setbacks. No news has probably been good news, in a broad sense.
Before Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Wall was on the floor for pregame warmups. That is pretty noteworthy on its own, even though he’s not close to playing. But he also revealed how well he’s apparently doing in his rehab by showing the return of some hops.
This actually isn’t the first time Wall has dunked during pregame recently. But Monday night’s dunk, due purely to how he did it, did show a bit more explosion if it’s worthwhile to break down such things.
It’s still unlikely Wall plays this season, as the Wizards sit with an 8-17 record and in 12th place in the East entering Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
But Wall looks pretty good right now, and his return to rejoin Bradley Beal in the Washington backcourt on opening night of the 2020-21 season looks like a virtual foregone conclusion.
