Don’t look for John Wall to be teaching people how to Dougie today. After multiple setbacks, he’ll be saving up his recuperated left knee for his season debut, as his Washington Wizards host the Atlanta Hawks at the Verizon Center.

One can simply look at the record (5-28) and chuckle at Coach Randy Wittman’s witless charges all they want. But we know the Wizards, snakebitten all year with injuries, can pull some pretty good rabbits out of their hat every so often. And never mind the Hawks nearly succumbing to their spells on three occasions already this year. They’ve been blessed with four days of rest after concluding a five-games-in-seven-days stretch with a home win over Kevin Durant and the rolling Thunder, thrilling whoever bothered to show up to The Phone Booth on Monday with a Bradley Beal buzzer-beater.

Not many NBA squads can boast they’ve felled the top teams of each conference, the HEAT and the Thunder, so far this year (actually, only one other team can – the 24-10 Grizzlies). Yet the Wizards pulled off the presto-chango against OKC while dressing just nine players, doing without not only Wall but Nene (knee tendinitis), Jordan Crawford (sore ankle), Cartier Martin (hyperextended knee), and Trevor Booker (knee strain).

Beal’s heroic efforts were the second in the past week. Despite falling to Joe Johnson’s Nets in double-OT last Friday, Beal’s triple at the close of the first overtime tied the game, and his free throws tied the score in the second one before Joe did his thing. It’s the moments before the final seconds of the game where the rookie has been less than automatic. He’s shooting just 31.7 FG% in the final quarters, compared to 36.7 FG% for the season. To be fair, defenses have been zeroing in on Beal. All season, he’s been looking for guys like Crawford, A.J. Price, the waived Shelvin Mack, and mid-season signing Garrett Temple to find him when he gets open. Can Wall (8.0 APG last season) immediately become that guy?

Jordan Crawford did his best impressions of Crawford and Jordan in the last Hawks-Wizards matchup, triple-doubling Atlanta with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists with just one turnover. He Whose Name hasn’t practiced much this week, so if he’s rested tonight, look for the Wizards to try and get Trevor Ariza jumpstarted. The RZA just returned from a month-long calf strain and will be the first wing off the bench behind Beal and Martell Webster (season-high 22 points vs. the Thunder), offering perimeter defense if not much else. Also missing a month of action was A.J. Price, who has healed his fractured hand and will try supplanting Temple as the top reserve behind Wall.

With wayward shooting skills (40.8 team FG%, worst in NBA), D.C. hopes to see if Wall has been able to expand his range in the offseason. He rarely shot threes in 2011-12, and for good reason (7.1 3FG%). Last season’s shooting chart showed Wall’s propensity for taking shots directly facing the front of the rim, particularly from the top of the key. Hawk defenders will need to keep him from driving to spots along that line, or catching-and-shooting open jumpers from there. As the Wiz guards take up a huge percentage of the usage with Wall back, defensive rebounding by the Hawks needs to be at a premium.

Washington is the only NBA team whose opponents loft more than half their field goals beyond 15 feet from the rim. Furthermore, those opponents are shooting an NBA-low 31 percent on long-twos. So Atlanta shouldn’t waste time on those outside jumpers, instead making them count more effectively behind the line (35.7 opponent 3FG%). Among the Hawks’ three-point threats, John Jenkins (12-for-21 on 3FG since December 15^th) performed admirably against Beal in the preseason, so don’t be surprised to see his minutes continue to increase tonight.

Much like a leprechaun who’s always worried of people after he Lucky Charms, last night Ivan Johnson declared his fervent desire for a larger share of steadier minutes from Coach Larry Drew. Spelling a dormant frontline last night against Utah, he made his case (13 points, 7 rebounds) with clutch jumpshooting, double-teaming and creating turnovers, and full-court movement in transition for baskets.

Just as important, Ivan and Zaza Pachulia were able to help neutralize reserves Derrick Favors (0 points and 3 turnovers in 15 minutes) and Enes Kanter (0 points in 7 minutes). That was a good blueprint for tonight, as Kevin Seraphin (19 points vs. OKC, starting in place of Nene) and Jan Vesely (5-for-6 shooting and 7 rebounds vs. OKC) will need to be cooled off. If Nene is unavailable, Booker will be pressed into action alongside Emeka Okafor. He’s been out with a knee strain since around Thanksgiving.

The Jazz couldn’t stop the Hawks when they finally decided to clamp down defensively and make a run, leading to a 23-point swing. That doesn’t bode well for the Wizards if they play like they did last week against Miami. They were outscored 21-0 in the closing seven minutes of the game. Atlanta will want to take this set of mending and unfamiliar Wizard lineups and keep them on their heels defensively, also having them seeing the backs of many Hawk jerseys on fast breaks.

Go Hawks!

~lw3