Since Jan. 30, the Washington Wizards have the seventh-best record in the NBA. What may seem like a random stat based off a random date is more than that — that date is when Wizards star guard John Wall had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The All-Star was slated to miss the next four to six weeks and the Wizards have done an admirable job of holding down the fort while he heals up.

With March 14 marking the sixth week of Wall’s absence, is he any closer to returning in the allotted timeframe? The Wizards don’t seem to know that answer yet. But Wall did take part in his second set of shooting drills since undergoing the surgery. Candace Buckner of The Washington Post has more on Wall’s progress and outlook via Wizards coach Scott Brooks:

Coach Scott Brooks, who watched the workout, said Wall attempted jumpers and moved side to side from different locations on the court. The act of lofting low-impact jump shots inside a practice facility may not seem like much, but this work, as the next step in the rehab process, impressed Brooks.

“Shoot and move 10 feet over and shoot the next spot,” Brooks said, describing Wall’s routine. “Not a lot, but he looked good. Not too many guys cannot touch a basketball for five weeks or so and still feel like it’s part of his hand, the way his handle is. Shot the ball well.”

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As March 14 will mark the sixth week and thus the first potential date Wall could return, Brooks was asked if the team had projected Wall to be shooting by this point in his recovery.

“I think so. The initial timeline was six to eight weeks, so it’s somewhere in between there,” Brooks said. “Anytime there’s a timeline, it’s just an educated guess by really smart people and you never know how everything is and you don’t put the pressure” on returning.

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The next steps appear to follow similar recovery plans the Wizards have employed for players who are recovering from significant injuries. If Wall continues to feel “pretty good” — as Brooks described his physical state after his initial on-court workout Tuesday — then he will participate in live action with the team’s staffers, not Wizards’ teammates. After that, Wall will progress to what Brooks described as five-on-zero with teammates. After successfully completing those steps, Wall would finally return to practice.

“I don’t know when that will be,” Brooks said, “but it’s gearing toward that direction.”

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