Wizards' John Wall misses Game 2 against Hawks with injured wrist
— -- ATLANTA -- Washington Wizards point guard John Wall missed Tuesday's 106-90 loss to the Atlanta Hawks with an injured wrist in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Wall was a late scratch after warming up on the court before the game with a soft brace around his left hand. His hand was still swollen from crashing hard to the floor on a drive to the basket with 3:05 left in the second quarter of the Wizards' 104-98 victory over Atlanta in Sunday's Game 1.
Before Wall returned to the locker room after his warmup, coach Randy Wittman told reporters he expected every player to be available. When asked about Wall's ability to play through pain, Wittman said the point guard was one of the toughest players he's been around.
"He's a tough kid," Wittman said before Wall was ruled out. "Usually when he sits out, he is really hurt. The way he plays, the way he is knocked to the ground, the physicality of the game, he's one of the toughest ones I have been around."
Despite saying that he was good to go at morning shootaround, Wall did admit that playing with a swollen left hand could be troublesome despite the fact that he shoots right-handed.
"Kind of," Wall said when asked if this is one of the more challenging injuries to play with. "It's my hand. So you need to dribble and do things like that. As long as the swelling's going down and the pain's decreasing, it helps a lot better. But if it's increasing and getting worse, it makes tougher to do certain things."
Wall, who will have six days of rest between Games 1 and 3, said he initially feared that he had broken his wrist, which he broke during high school. But X-rays were negative.
Wall's hand swelled up considerably after Game 1, and he has spent the last two days trying to get the swelling to go down.
The All-Star point guard said he sought two different opinions on the wrist.
Wall had stated Tuesday morning there was no doubt he'd play, saying, "Just doing what I got to do to get the swelling down as much as possible and keep treatment on it as much as possible until game time."
Backup point guard Ramon Sessions is expected to start in place of Wall, who is averaging 17.4 points, 12.6 assists and 1.4 blocks in five games this postseason.
Wall had 18 points and 13 assists against Atlanta, his fourth consecutive double-double in the playoffs.
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