Talk around Washington these days centers on one question: Are the Wizards actually better off without John Wall?

It seems preposterous. Wall’s their best player. He’s an all-star. A Wall-star. The face of the franchise.

But he’s been out the past 12 games with an injured knee, during which time the Wiz are 9-3. That includes wins over Cleveland, OKC, and Toronto. (The Raptors, by the way, have the best record in the Eastern Conference.) One of those losses was an overtime loss to Boston, previous owners of the best record in the east. (I know, I know, it’s the Eastern Conference, but still.) The Wizards have found some February magic without their Wall-star, last night beating the Philadelphia 76ers, who’d come into the game winners of seven in a row. It would be a cliché to say they’re “playing like a team” without their star, but, well, yeah.

The Wizards have four of their next five games at home before a month-long final push to the playoffs. Sometime in there Wall is going to come back, and one hopes the magic is still there.

The phrase we’re using is “everybody eats.”

Grab a fork, John.