John Wall’s Hand And Wrist Are Fractured In Five Places

Horrible news out of Washington today, as the Wizards have announced their star point guard and leader John Wall has five non-displaced fractures in his hand and wrist. No statement has been made about his availability for the rest of the playoffs, but the safe assumption is that he’ll miss some time.

Wall landed awkwardly on his hand in Game 1 of the Wizards’ second-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, and while he returned to the game and played well, his hand swelled dramatically in the days after it, and he sat out Game 2.

The Wizards have been undefeated with Wall in the lineup so far in the playoffs, and they lost their first game with him sidelined. He’s undoubtedly their best player, and in the last couple of years, he’s risen to the elite class of NBA point guards who make every one of their teammates better.

Wall’s a genius passer and one of the fastest players in the NBA. Watching him slice into the paint and hit a shooter in the corner is pure joy for basketball fans, and losing that joy is a crushing blow. Every postseason in the NBA experiences its fair share of injury-related plot twists, but this whole season has felt more damaged than most when it comes to injury.

Kevin Durant was the biggest name to go down in the regular season, but the postseason has now seen three marquee players come down with serious injuries — Kevin Love, Chris Paul (whose return could be imminent, but it’s no sure thing) and Wall. There still has been (and still will be) drama and excitement, but it’s losing ground as the main storyline of this season. The number of injury-determined “What if?” scenarios is piling up. Nothing is for certain, of course.

Non-displaced fractures are less serious than displaced ones, and the injury is to his non-shooting hand, but even if he does return way ahead of what one would expect for a broken hand and wrist, it will affect him, and the Wizards.

(Via CSN Washington)