The Wizards are at a critical point in their season and they may have to navigate it without Bradley Beal, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Sunday’s loss to the Lakers was Washington’s sixth in its last seven games, and a challenging schedule looms for the rest of the month. There is concern about the status of Beal, who suffered a strained hamstring while diving for a ball midway through the first quarter and didn’t return to the game. He will undergo testing today to determine the extent of the injury.
“First of all, hopefully, he doesn’t have to miss that many games,” Corey Kispert said. “I’m praying for Brad, absolutely. He’s the heart and soul of our team. We need him on the floor. But whether it’s a good thing or not, we’ve experienced playing without Brad last year. A lot of guys on this team did that. We know exactly what to do, just kind of a mindset change and a little bit of a style change. But we need (Beal) on the floor. We want him out there.”
Beal, a three-time All-Star, is scoring more efficiently this season, shooting a career-best 52.2% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range. Robbins notes that the Wizards were able to go 4-2 when Beal was in the health and safety protocols earlier this season, with Kyle Kuzma taking on more of a facilitating role.
There’s more from Washington:
- Free agent addition Delon Wright, who has been sidelined since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the fourth game of the season, may be able to return this week, Robbins adds. Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. told reporters that Rui Hachimura is still “day to day” after missing eight games with a bone bruise in his right ankle.
- Two-way guard Devon Dotson and lottery pick Johnny Davis both entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols while in the G League, Robbins tweets.
- Daniel Gafford relied on support from his wife and his friends while seeing limited playing time in November, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Gafford scored a season-high 20 points Sunday after posting season-best marks with 12 rebounds and six blocks in Friday’s game. “Take a deep breath, it’s going to be okay,” Gafford said. “You might have a bad night this night, but you can come back the next night and you can prove that that wasn’t you. Just be better than the day before. In our bathroom, me and my wife, we have sticky notes of motivational things that we’ve said to each other over the times. Every morning I look at that and it helps me out a lot. I actually take the time out to look at that. So, really just finding ways to clear out my mental.”
Trade beal
But Cade they just extended him.
The Gafford anecdote is really wholesome. Brightened up my Monday.
Why
Why cant the coach tell beal to adjust to the playing style they do when he’s not around. Coz, the rest of the team plays better with everybody eats style now that you know you cannot rely on beal down the stretch ? They shld mix it up down the stretch whoever is open and not let beal finish the game.
And you think Beal is going to accept that? He’s been in the league for how many years, has how many accolades, makes how much money, and you think Beal will just accept being told “the way you play isn’t good enough, you have to do this now”? You’d have better luck talking to a brick wall.
Too bad, the Wizards are pretty good when the roster is healthy. Delon Wright coming back can’t happen soon enough. Probably get some wins even if Beal isn’t back. Their defense is stellar at times this season. Not Beal’s though…
What an exciting 4 th qrter
Dunks everywhere , kuzma channeling his inner MJ , lebron tomahawking , AD playing like it’s 2018 all the sudden
Fans were loving it last night even if the home team lost
Beal again softer than Charmin