[Editor's note: The two interesting, or curious, developments in the John Wall injury recovery process is that he is looking into getting his own personal trainer to help with his knee, etc. issues, per the Washington Post's Michael Lee, and that he has shut himself down for an indefinite amount of time. Wall speaks with CSNWashington's Chris Miller in the video below. -Kyle]

[After last week’s Wizards loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, I asked Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and Shannon Brown their impressions of John Wall's game. Wall did not play in the defeat, but had a stellar outing in their previous match up in LA.

Brown commended of Wall’s ability, Fisher heaped high praise on John’s character, and Artest had a comedic response. -Adam]

[UPDATE/Correction] It looks like I misunderstood Josh when speaking to him the other night. Per a recent (3/11/10) tweet of Michael Lee (and post on Wizards Insider) he actually has yet to have surgery and is waiting for the swelling to go down. I thought that sounded a little soon. Next time I’ll be sure and double-check. My bad.

I briefly caught up with Josh Howard about an hour before tonight’s game. He was here at the Verizon Center to rehab his knee with the Wizards’ training staff. A couple weeks out of surgery to repair a torn ACL, he said everything was going according to plan and that he was waiting for the doctors to tell him the next step. Howard said he’s been rehabbing by lifting light weights and that he was about to try some light jogging/backpedaling.

He referred to his knee injury as a “little setback” and said that it would not affect rehabbing his ankle, which he had previously said was around 80% when he arrived in Washington after the trade and reaffirmed that percentage tonight. Before he got hurt during a February 22nd home game against the Chicago Bulls, the first knee injury he said he’s ever experienced, Howard was hoping to make the ankle, which has given him so many problems over the past couple of years, better and stronger by playing on it.

I mentioned that a lot of people are assuming the Wizards will not pick up his $11.8 million option for next season and asked if that would factor into the possibility of him resigning with the team. Howard gave a sheepish smile and said, “That doesn’t mean anything.” He indicated it did mean something that the Wizards brought him in and touted the fact that the team has two first round draft picks this summer and plenty of cap space.

Despite the disappointment, Howard seemed genuinely happy to be in Washington around a group of guys his age who were playing hard-nosed, hustling basketball at the time he got hurt. It’s a ways until summer, but I think the Wizards brass, and Howard himself, hope that this change of scenery will help the former All-Star mature and return to his past level of play. If his rehab goes according to plan, all of this could translate to the 29-year old being apart of the team’s talent in the future.

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Despite his team just coming off a nice victory over the Bulls, Flip Saunders was curt when responding to the first query of Monday night’s post-game press conference.

“Josh Howard update?,” began a voice from the media corps.

“Knee,” Saunders deadpanned. “Know more tomorrow,” he followed. “I’m sure he’ll be out for a little bit,” the coach trailed off as he surveyed the room for the next question.

It’s hard to tell what Saunders really knew about what had been called a sprained left knee at that exact moment, judgment is usually withheld until an MRI is procured. But his demeanor regarding the subject spoke of a grim outlook, as if the worst was expected, as if the post-game diagnosis divulged a strong possibility that it was more than a sprain.

The injury turned out to be much worse than a sprain. As you probably know by now, Howard will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Wizards Insider reports that Saunders found out the final and official verdict about a half-hour into this morning’s practice.

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{flickr/ragesoss}

It’s as if we’re forced to admire or respect the outspoken views of Etan Thomas just because, well, they are outspoken. The mere fact that he’s a rare beacon of political activism amongst professional athletes somehow lends more credibility to his point of view.

Kind of ironic when you think about it. Because he plays in a capitalism-fueled league that he’s at times criticized, Thomas’ soap box (via the Huffington Post, et al.) has been amplified more than your average Joe (except if “The Plumber” follows ‘Joe’ I suppose). When you consider the privileges athletes receive because of their status in society, no one ever thinks about such perks including a higher platform for activism. But as Thomas points out in his blogging debut on HoopsHype, there are plenty of NBA players who have been politically (or more accurately, socially) conscious. It’s just that not all of them opine on a regular basis like Thomas.

A vocal Etan Thomas isn’t a bad thing. He’s done an admirable job in his attempt to push ‘need to be discussed’ topics to the forefront. But I won’t always pay attention to or agree with all of Thomas’ utterances. As I alluded to, the fact that he’s an athlete doesn’t lend him any sort of credibility in my mind. Then again, Thomas is no more or less credible than the oodles of political pundits out there on CNN, Fox News, and the what-not … the types John Stewart so often rips down with reason and comedy on the Daily Show (Which is, by the way, my ‘source’ for news … just kidding, kinda. Would you blame me if, at times, I’d rather digest current events with heavy doses satire via a self-proclaimed “fake news”?)

Ok, I’m digressing and speaking in generalities. This post is not meant to be of a political nature. Rather, how Etan Thomas’ recent blog entry of “questions” applies to the Wizards. Read more »

Well, it’s not the end of the world, but it isn’t exactly what Wizards fans want to hear either … especially after a loss.

Miller originally injured his left, non-shooting shoulder less than a minute into the third quarter and looked to be in a lot of pain. He sat on the bench for a couple minutes while being looked at by a trainer and eventually made his way back into the locker room. Early reports indicated that it was a mild shoulder sprain and that Miller would return.

With 3:50 left in the third, Miller checked back in. He seemed to slightly favor the shoulder, but looked okay as he played through. Unfortunately, just under three minutes into the fourth quarter, he injured it again on a hard drive to the basket. Scoring the hoop and the harm, Miller stayed in the game and made the And1 free-throw, which didn’t give the Wizards a chance to call a timeout.

This time, Miller was clearly heavily favoring the shoulder. The Heat subsequently went down the court and Quentin Richardson missed a three pointer. However, the Wizards did not call a timeout to get Miller off the court. On the next offensive possession, the ball actually ended up in Miller’s hands, or hand, as he caught it and only dribbled with his right hand. And then the most amazing part which got Miller a standing ovation, he zipped a pass to Andray Blatche right under the basket for a dunk and his third assist of the game.

The Heat then called a timeout and Stevenson was able to check in for Miller who went straight to the locker room where he would be declared out for the rest of the night. In his post-game presser, Flip Saunders said that Miller would be out for 7-10 days with a “mild 1 sprain of his shoulder.”

You can read the AP story here via ESPN.

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Hot off the Wizards press … unfortunately, this ain’t too hot.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that forward Antawn Jamison’s right shoulder has been re-evaluated and that the findings were consistent with the original diagnosis of a subluxation.  He is expected to miss from four to six weeks from the date of the injury (Jamison sustained the injury in the Wizards’ 109-104 win in Cleveland on Oct. 14).

Honestly, I kinda expected this to be the case … especially when a shoulder briefly pops out of place. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.

Flip Saunders said he would probably start Fabricio Oberto tonight against the Bulls so that Andray Blatche can get used to his role of coming off the bench … wonder if this now changes the plan.

Antawn Jamison could be out until around December. Damn.

Get well soon Captain.

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{flickr/Ben Chau}

H1N1, much less the ‘regular’ flu, ain’t no joke. How do we know? Because the media tells us so.

LeBron James, Darnell Jackson, and Coby Karl missed Wednesday’s game against the Wizards with the flu … they weren’t even allowed in the Quicken Loans Arena.

Turns out each of them tested positive for ‘Influenza A’ and are awaiting the results of an H1N1 test.

Also turns out that three Cavaliers who were on the court against the Wizards, Jawad Williams, J.J. Hickson and Andre Barrett, showed flu-like symptoms on Thursday. Hickson and Barrett did not travel with the team to Texas to face the Spurs, Williams did … as reported by Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Twitter, and later in a story by Mary Schmitt Boyer in the same publication.

As you can imagine, there’s a great deal of contact and sweat exchanged during the course of a game. So should the Wizards be concerned?

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Via Washington Wizards Media Advisory

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced that an MRI performed today showed that forward Antawn Jamison suffered a subluxation of his right shoulder.  He will miss the remainder of the Wizards’ preseason games (Oct. 19 at Atlanta, Oct. 20 at Philadelphia and Oct. 23 at Chicago) and will be re-evaluated next week after the inflammation subsides.

Godspeed Mr. Jamison.

{flickr/timkelley}

[via Richmond, VA]

You really have to feel bad for the guy. It seems he’s always been on teams where, especially at his position, the competition is high and the chances are low (well, with the exception of last year). Now he’s forced to wear a boot, his third time donning one this summer, and sit out the next couple of weeks, watching the competition pass him by. Wizards Insider and Wizards Outlet both have some additional details on Crittenton’s injury to his left foot, a double bone bruise and a strained tendon.

It seems like the downside of high competition (if you’re really trying hard to find a negative) has reared it’s head. With so much pressure, Crittenton likely pushed his injury, first experienced in an Atlanta ProAm game in July, more than he would have otherwise. “We tried to speed up the progress of it healing,” he said in reference to each time he’s put on a boot (in Atlanta, in DC before training camp and now), but was never able to get it back to one hundred percent.

He said he’s been able to make it through every practice despite the soreness and pain he was feeling. But on Friday his foot reached its limit and he had to take himself out of practice. The Wizards staff suggested that he get an MRI.

“The MRI came out worse than before,” said Javaris, indicating that it’s one of those injuries that just takes time to heal. He said that continuing to play on the tender ankle would only make it a nagging injury and could possibly lead to surgery.

Crittenton seems a bit down about the set-back, saying “It makes me sick to think about it,” referencing the situation in which the injury occurred (he felt he shouldn’t have been in the game in Atlanta with his team up 12 points in the waning seconds). Hopefully now, he will take the time to heal properly, keep his spirits high, and stay focused. With his length, Flip could turn to him off the bench as a nice change of pace defensively down the road. And in the NBA, another opportunity is always around the corner.

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