Injury Notes: Beal, Haliburton, Simmons, Huerter, Hornets

Wizards guard Bradley Beal underwent testing on his sore left knee and it revealed a “mild” knee sprain, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. told reporters, including Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Beal and Kyle Kuzma (right ankle sprain) were already ruled out of Friday’s game vs. San Antonio, and both players are considered day-to-day, according to Unseld. Friday will mark Beal’s second straight missed game and Kuzma’s third.

The Spurs — who hold the third-worst record in the NBA — might look like an easy target, but the Wizards certainly shouldn’t treat them as such. Washington has gone just 2-9 over its last 11 games — including four straight losses —  to drop to 32-41, the No. 12 seed in the East. The Wizards trail the Bulls by 2.5 games for the final spot in the play-in tournament with nine games left, so they need every win they can get.

Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

• Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton will return to action on Friday against Boston, but second-year wing Chris Duarte will miss his fifth straight game with an ankle sprain, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As Dopriak writes in a full story, Haliburton was a full participant in Friday’s shootaround. The third-year guard had missed the previous six games with knee and ankle injuries.
• After being reevaluated today, Ben Simmons was diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back, according to the Nets (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). He will remain out as Brooklyn determines the best treatment for the injury long term. Based on the wording of the statement, it sounds highly unlikely that Simmons will play again in 2022/23. The 26-year-old has been out of action since February 15 due to a combination of knee and back injuries.
• Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter was able to practice on Thursday and is questionable for Friday’s game against Phoenix, per Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link). The sharpshooter has missed the past three games with a mild strain of the popliteus muscle, which is behind the knee.
• After leaving Thursday’s loss to New Orleans with injuries, Kelly Oubre (right shoulder strain) and Terry Rozier (right foot soreness) are listed as questionable and doubtful, respectively, for Friday’s game in Dallas, the Hornets announced (via Twitter). On a positive note, rookie center Mark Williams, who has missed six straight games with a right thumb sprain, is listed as probable — there’s a good chance he’ll return to action tonight.