Report: John Wall to undergo season-ending heel surgery
Washington Wizards All-Star point guard John Wall’s season-ending surgery just the latest in the never-ending troubles for the team
The Washington Wizards season that seemingly couldn’t get any worse just did: Reports are that John Wall will undergo season-ending surgery on his left heel, which has limited him over the past several months.
Wall has already missed four games this season, including Friday’s loss against the Chicago Bulls. The Wizards are 1-3 in those games, with their only win coming in triple overtime against the Phoenix Suns.
Last season, Wall missed 41 games after a procedure on his left knee.
This is undoubtedly a major blow to the team’s outlook for an already-disappointing 2018-2019 campaign. The Wizards have fallen well short of expectations, heading in to Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets with a 13-23 record. They currently sit at eleventh in the Eastern Conference and are 4.5 games out of the playoffs.
As the team’s starting point guard and half of the All-Star backcourt, Wall will obviously be difficult to replace. He was average 20.7 points and 8.7 assists per game. While he had a handful of underwhelming games over the past month or so, his production will be hard to match.
Tomas Satoransky will likely start in place of Wall for the rest of the season. The third-year player has been a go-to fill-in for injured Wizards starters this season thanks to his versatility and decision-making. Satoransky is averaging 6.1 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting to go along with 2.9 assists.
Wall’s injury also highlights a serious lack of depth in the point guard position for the team. After Satoransky, the team’s only other true point guard is Chasson Randle, who just signed with the team a couple weeks ago after spending much of the season with their G League affiliate. In six games thus far, Randle is average 6.3 points and 2 assists per game in just over 14 minutes.
Next. Tomas Satoransky should still be a starter. dark
For a team that has been in nonstop tumult since the season began, Wall’s injury only further exacerbates a frustrated locker room and fanbase. More of the fallout from this injury will become clear in the coming days and weeks.