Wizards optimistic Porzingis' ankle injury not serious originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — Kristaps Porzingis rolled his left ankle badly enough in the third quarter on Saturday night that he hobbled off the court towards the opponent’s locker room at Capital One Arena, as evidently, he opted for the nearest exit. But early indications, according to head coach Wes Unseld Jr., are that Porzingis may have avoided a serious injury.
Unseld Jr. shared what he could after Saturday night’s win. It wasn’t much, but it could count as encouraging.
“Sprained ankle. He’ll be evaluated tomorrow. We’ll see where it is. I don’t think it’s too bad, but fingers crossed,” he said.
Porzingis, 27, is a player the Wizards can ill afford to lose. He has been a mainstay in their rotation this season, averaging 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He is shooting 46.8% from the field and 34.8% from three.
Porzingis has stayed healthy this season for the most part, appearing in 41 of their 46 games. He has bounced back from minor injuries and his longest absence was due to an illness.
Having played in 89% of the Wizards’ games so far this season, he is on pace for a career-high in games played. Porzingis played in 51 games last season and 43 the year before. He has not played in at least 60 games since 2016-17.
While Porzingis left the game for good, the Wizards saw Daniel Gafford return from an injury in the fourth quarter. He went down just before Porzingis did after taking a shot to the head by Paolo Banchero on a defensive play in the paint.
Losing both Porzingis and Gafford, their starting big men, would have been a tough blow for the Wizards. They just recently welcomed back Bradley Beal from a five-game absence and on Saturday were playing just their third game this season with a fully healthy roster.
Gafford turned out to be fine and, according to Unseld Jr., Porzingis may be okay as well. The Wizards will have two days off before their next game which happens to be against Porzingis’ former team, the Dallas Mavericks.
