John Wall returns, Wizards get win over Hawks

John Wall made his long awaited season debut on Saturday, scoring 14 points and dishing out four assists in 21 minutes off the bench to help the Wizards to a 93-83 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Washington notched just its sixth win in 34 tries on the season, but the vibe around the team may start to change a little with Wall back in the fold.

He’s unquestionably the team’s best player when healthy, and showed flashes at times in his first game back, even if the results weren’t always necessarily evident.

Brian Jackson of CSNWashington had some instant analysis of Wall’s performance:

One thing is for certain, Wall has his explosion back but was rusty as expected after missing the first 33 games of the season. In the first half there were several occasions where Wall got into the paint but was unable to finish near the basket. But he proved to be a quick study scoring nine of his 14 points in the 2nd half.

From the Wizards front office to the fans sitting in the 400 section of Verizon Center everyone has been waiting to see what a Wall and Bradley Beal backcourt will look like. We got a brief glimpse in the first half when Wall found Beal on the fast break for a tomahawk slam. Later in the 2nd half Wall found Beal in the corner for an open three-pointer.

We all knew this would be a season of rebuilding in Washington. Wall’s return does nothing to change that, but it does add some excitement to the mix.

Put simply, Wall represents the future in Washington. And seeing him back on the court healthy for the first time all year might actually give Wizards fans a reason to follow their team closely for the rest of the season.