WASHINGTON -- Already sidelined for more than two months, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall still is not ready to practice, let alone play -- and coach Randy Wittman said Monday night he does not know when his best player will return.
Wall hasn't played at all this season for Washington, an NBA-worst 1-13 heading into its game against the defending champion Miami Heat on Monday.
When the Wizards announced on Sept. 28 that Wall was diagnosed with the early stages of a stress injury to his left knee cap, they said he didn't need surgery and probably would be out of action for about two months.
Well, that schedule turned out to be too optimistic.
Asked Monday for an idea of when Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, will be available, Wittman replied: "I can't give you one. I don't know what you want me to say."
Wittman continued: "I mean, right now, we're still progressing the way we are with his rehab. He's not been on the floor to practice. He's been on the floor to shoot some, but he's not progressed to the point that he can get out and practice. So obviously until that happens, I don't know what that timetable's going to be."
During the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, Wall led the Wizards by averaging 16.3 points and eight assists. He also topped the team with 95 steals and averaged 4.5 rebounds. The Wizards finished 20-46, the second-worst record in the league.
In September, Wall said he "started feeling discomfort" about a month earlier, when he got an MRI exam that did not show any sort of problem. But Wall still was bothered by his knee while working out and went for a second opinion, which uncovered the injury.
Without Wall entirely and also minus centre Nene for most games, the Wizards opened this season with a franchise-worst 0-12 record before getting their first victory by beating the Portland Trail Blazers last week.
Against Miami, Wittman tried his fifth different starting lineup in 14 games, inserting Chris Singleton at forward in place of Kevin Seraphin. The other starters remained the same as last game: A.J. Price, rookie Bradley Beal, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza.
