The Wizards were dealt a severe blow to their playoff hopes on Tuesday. The team announced that their leading scorer Bradley Beal is out for the season and will not travel to Orlando for the NBA restart.
According to the team, Beal is dealing with a right rotator cuff(shoulder)injury. The 27-year-old Beal had a tremendous season for the Wizards. Beal averaged 30.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. The seven-year veteran had 21 straight games of 25 points or more, the second-longest NBA streak in 10 years.
With no Beal and Davis Bertans(opted out), the team’s top two leading scorers, making the playoffs is nearly impossible for Washington. However, without Beal in the lineup, the Wizards are 4-3, so they had some success without him, which GM Tommy Sheppard discussed on Tuesday.
“You’re never better without Bradley Beal, never,” Sheppard said during a video conference call with the media. “We had to play without Bradley this year, and we had some success. These guys stepped up.”
Keeping Beal on the sidelines is not a bad idea. No one expected the Wizards to do much this season without John Wall, so getting the Orlando invite was a considerable accomplishment. Now, they get a chance to let their young guys play in some meaningful games, as the Wizards have an outside chance of making the playoffs.
“The way you develop players is let them get out there and play, and Bradley’s(Beal) minutes were heavy, but they were down,” Sheppard said. “Our plan was in Orlando, certainly, we wanted to see these young kids get an opportunity to play, and that will continue to be the focus.”
This season was about development for the Wizards. Without Beal, guys like rookie Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, and Troy Brown Jr. will have bigger roles, which will help their development, and while you would like to win now, the best thing for this franchise is continuing to grow their young talent.
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