Marcin Gortat apologized to his team earlier today for his negative comments about the Wizards‘ bench unit. He and Scott Brooks addressed the team before practice with the coach stressing unity, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post relays. “I look at things from a whole, because this is how — when I played, I was a backup, and I didn’t like to be divided,” Brooks said. “We don’t have two teams here, we have one basketball team, and right now we’re not happy and content on being 2-7.” Gortat previously said that the team has “one of the worst benches in the league.”
Here’s more from Southeast Division:
- Brooks added that Gortat’s comments will have no lingering effect on the team, Wallace writes in the same piece. “We all make mistakes at times, but we have to move on, and we will,” Brooks exclaimed. “We’re not happy, and that’s a good thing. If we were happy and we’re 2-7, I would be really concerned. And if we haven’t had good practices, I would be really concerned. But we’re not having any of that.”
- Bradley Beal shed some light on his latest injury, as J. Michael of Comcast Sportnet relays. “Jumping doesn’t bother me. I can jump, shoot jumpers,” Beal said. “[Singly] jumping off this leg is a little difficult, hitting my stride. I have a long stride. Limits me a litte in that area. For the most part I’m able to do some [practice]. Not exactly 100 percent full speed.” Beal has missed the last two games for the Wizards because of tightness in his hamstring.
- The Hornets‘ bench is full of new faces and despite some inconsistent play so far this season, the team believes its second unit can be a strength, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I think early we’ve shown flashes of that good chemistry. That’s something we’ve got to build on in limited [practice] time,” Spencer Hawes said.