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After months of watching his teammates struggle to operate offensively in his absence, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall expects to return to the court when the Atlanta Hawks visit D.C. on Saturday, Craig Stouffer of The Washington Examiner reports.
In a video on the Wizards' official site posted after Wednesday's practice, Wall told reporters that he fully expects to play on Saturday barring any setbacks, which he's avoided so far. Asked what he needs to do before then, Wall said, "Just keep going through these full practices without no pain, and waking up the next day, I can do it all over again."
Having missed the first 33 games of Washington's season, it's understandably been difficult for the former No. 1 overall pick to watch his teammates get to this point with just five wins on the docket. Of finally being able to get on the court and actively participate, Wall said, "That was my New Year's resolution and my Christmas present, was just to be able to play basketball again. Hopefully my dreams come true soon."
Asked how close he was to 100 percent game-playing condition, Wall was pleasantly positive, saying, "Oh, I feel good. Today I didn't need no breaks, really," while adding that he's trying to be aggressive in pushing himself to get back into top form as soon as possible.
"I'm just glad to get the opportunity to play basketball again," Wall said.
For those of us watching Wizards games from home, we're all glad you're getting the chance again, too.