After spraining his shoulder against the Cavaliers on Friday, Wizards star point guard John Wall will be forced to sit out Sunday evening’s game in Toronto against the Raptors.
Coach Scott Brooks confirmed Wall’s absence in his pregame meeting with the media, noting Tim Frazier, also banged up with a wrist injury, would start in Wall’s place as the star recovered from his injured shoulder.
Per Coach Brooks, John Wall (shoulder) is out tonight. Tim Frazier will start. #WizRaptors
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) November 5, 2017
The Wizards are, unsurprisingly, significantly better this season when Wall is on the court, but the on/off splits for the offense are especially staggering. With Wall on the floor, Washington has a 112.4 offensive rating, which is among the league’s best. Without him, the become one of the NBA’s worst offenses with a 97.4 offensive rating. The defense gets worse as well, going from 105.1 to 108.8 when he leaves the court, but something to watch tonight against the very stingy Raptors defense is how the Wizards manage to create offense with Wall out of the lineup completely.
Frazier’s numbers are almost the exact opposite of Wall’s — not surprising as he’s the backup point guard — so Washington will need him to step up in a big way and facilitate the offense with the starting unit (which should help him). You can also expect to see more of Bradley Beal working on the ball in Wall’s absence. Washington needs Wall healthy to compete in the East, so they’d be wise to let him get right early rather than letting a shoulder issue linger, provided Frazier and company can stem the tide.
