John Wall Hopes to Make Season Debut This Saturday

If there are no setbacks in practice, as the Washington Wizards cross their fingers and hope, we can expect John Wall to lace up his (new) adidas sneakers for the first time this season on Saturday against the visiting Atlanta Hawks. Per the WaPo: “Sidelined since September because of a stress injury in his left patella, John Wall hasn’t had much else to focus on beyond getting healthy, studying the game by sitting next to the Washington Wizards’ coaching staff during games and displaying a keen fashion sense with a colorful and stylish array of suits, jackets and ties. ‘I stepped it up this year. You got to step it up from time to time,’ Wall said after Wednesday’s practice while flashing a grin, before concluding: ‘I’m tired of suits. I want to put on a jersey.’ Wall is edging closer to putting on his No. 2 jersey soon and said that he plans to be back on the court against Atlanta on Saturday if he doesn’t have any setbacks in practice. He returned to practice last week and said that he hasn’t had any complications moving around as he did before. ‘I’m good, I’m just tired right now,’ Wall said. ‘I’m just working my way back in shape and just excited and happy to be back out there with my teammates and go through a full practice without no pain and just see how I feel. Hopefully everything will keep going well so I can be back out there with my team on Saturday.’ Coach Randy Wittman said he wouldn’t put Wall back on the court until he gets the proper approval from the Wizards’ medical and training staff. […] Wall moved around with abandon during Wednesday’s practice as he stripped point guard A.J. Price and sprinted down the court for a left-handed dunk, made a 360-degree spin before making a dish and even drove into the lane to attempt a twisting layup, got knocked to the ground and popped back up. ‘John’s hit the floor a hundred times,’ Wittman said. ‘He knows how to hit the floor. I want him playing that way. That’s who he is. So does it scare me? No. Actually, I like seeing that, that he’s not tentative, not thinking about going to the basket and getting hit.'”