By Thanksgiving, maybe Washington can get back to what they pictured their offense would look like this season — John Wall running the break, Wall passing to Nene on the block, Wall driving and kicking out to Trevor Ariza, and of course Wall scoring a lot.
But due to a stress fracture on his patella (kneecap to you) Wall is out for a couple months, and with him gone the hub of the Wizards offense melts away.
So, now what?
Expect A.J. Price to get the starting point guard job with Wall out. Price spent the last three years behind Darren Collison in Indiana and last season played less than 13 minutes a game, in part because he shot 33 percent on the season. Total, not from three (that was 29 percent). Price can make passes but he turns the ball over a little more than you would like.
The reason you can expect Price to get the job is he is the best option the Wizards have. They tried Shelvin Mack at the point at Summer League, but that was a failed experiment. Same with having just-drafted Bradley Beal at the point, it didn’t look good running this summer either. Their other options, like Jordan Crawford, are not point guards.
The Wizards can take other steps — like run more of the offense through Nene, who passes well for a big man.
Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld will be watching the waiver wire, looking for someone to pick up to fill in short term. But because it is short term it is going to have to be the right guy, the right fit.
Most likely, the Wizards are going to try and ride it out. The problem is Washington had a very small margin for effort to make the playoffs, and now they start in a hole. Coach Randy Wittman said what you would expect a coach to say, via CSNWashingon.com.
“It’s not going to be about one player taking over for John. It’s going to be about a whole team effort,” Grunfeld said on a conference call with reporters following the injury announcement.
That’s a nice sentiment, but they are really going to miss John. They don’t have a Plan B.