Injuries testing Wizards’ depth at a tough time originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Injuries are part of basketball and a reminder of that can be served any time you look up an NBA team’s injury toll compared to the rest of the league. The Wizards, for instance, rank about average this season in terms of man games lost, even if you account for Bradley Beal’s five-game absence due to health and safety protocols, which technically was not an injury.
So, just because the Wizards could only suit up nine players in Friday night’s loss to the Pacers, doesn’t mean their plight is worse than other NBA teams. Still, the context and timing of their injuries at the moment seem to be of particular constraint. Whether they are more snakebitten than the next team or not, they are going through an especially challenging time.
In Friday’s loss, the WIizards were without Bradley Beal (hamstring), Rui Hachimura (right ankle), Will Barton (left foot) and Delon Wright (right hamstring). Guards Johnny Davis and Devon Dotson could also be factored in, as they are in the G-League’s health and safety protocols and would likely be getting minutes if they were available.
The Wizards also had Kristaps Porzingis listed as questionable before Friday’s game due to a left ankle issue. He played well with 29 points, but slowed down in the second half, perhaps partly due to the injury.
All of those problems are being compounded by the Wizards’ schedule and the fact they are going through their worst stretch of the season so far. Already with trouble winning on the road, the Wizards are in the middle of a run playing 17 of 23 games away from Washington. They played at Chicago on Wednesday, then at Indiana on Friday before flying home to D.C. to host the Clippers on Saturday.
Back-to-backs are never easy, but this is uniquely bad timing. The Wizards will have to dig down deep to pull out a win against a good Clippers team.
Wins have been hard to come by lately for the Wizards. Their defeat in Indy was their seventh straight on the road and their eighth in their last nine games overall.
Beal has now missed the last two games, while Hachimura has been out for 10 and Wright for 22. Barton had played in all of the Wizards’ first 24 games before the foot injury cropped up.
We know Beal will miss at least one more game before his hamstring is re-evaluated and Wright, while making progress, is not imminent to return. If the Wizards can get Barton back, that would help. Perhaps Hachimura can turn a corner and return soon.
Regardless, the Wizards’ depth is being tested to a significant degree. Part of what separates teams in the NBA is the ability to withstand injuries and it’s a reason why the Wizards have emphasized improving the depth of their roster in recent offseasons.
Some of that depth is shining through. Jordan Goodwin, to his credit, had an excellent night with career-highs in points (19) and steals (5) off the Wizards’ bench. But the rest of the Wizards’ second unit managed only seven points, as the Pacers outdid the Wizards in bench scoring, 50-26.
Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. basically rolled with a seven-man rotation against the Pacers. Anthony Gill played just one minute off the bench, while Taj Gibson played eight. Goodwin logged 33 minutes, with the entire starting lineup also playing 30-plus. Daniel Gafford played 18 minutes in the backup center role.
Unseld Jr. doesn’t have many options right now as the Wizards aim to pull themselves out of an extended losing skid. They return home to face the Clippers and Nets before going right back out on the road for a six-game West Coast trip. Even with their next two at home, 10 of their upcoming 14 games are on the road. The Wizards are 8-5 at Capital One Arena and 3-10 elsewhere.
Between injuries, lots of road games and back-to-backs (the Wizards have three more this month), the Wizards have arrived at an unforgiving stretch. Given all the elements at play, it could prove to be their biggest test of resiliency in the entire 2022-23 season.
