The Washington Wizards are finally ready to retake the court, but who will actually be out there for the team’s first game in nearly two weeks?
Theyyyyyy’re baaaaaaaacckkkk. After being forced to postpone six consecutive games due to COVID-19 concerns, the Washington Wizards are finally playing basketball again. The Wizards will play the San Antonio Spurs in their first game since Jan. 11.
The return to the court does not mean that the Washington Wizards have returned to perfect health or even exited the health and safety protocol. The Wizards’ return to the court simply means that they’ll have the eight players needed to compete in an NBA game. The injury list is still quite long.
The Washington Wizards will be incredibly shorthanded for their battle vs. the San Antonio Spurs.
Before the team left for San Antonio, they released the injury report for their games vs. the Spurs. It was a long one. Here’s who won’t be playing against the Spurs in the Wizards’ first game in nearly two weeks.
- Den Avdija – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Davis Bertans – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Troy Brown Jr – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Thomas Bryant – Out (Left ACL)
- Rui Hahcimura – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Raul Neto – Questionable (Left Groin)
- Ish Smith – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Mortiz Wagner – Out (Health and Safety Protocols)
- Russell Westbrook – Questionable (Left Quad)
Even though the Wizards will be playing, they’ll be far from full strength…for a while, it seems. Unfortunately, these aren’t easy guys to replace, either. The injury report is a long list of some top contributors for the Wizards. Luckily, Bradley Beal is healthy and available, but he’s one of the few. After signing Alex Len and Jordan Bell this week to fill out their roster, here’s who the Wizards will be trotting out vs. San Antonio.
- Anthony Gill
- Alex Len
- Bradley Beal
- Cassius Winston
- Garrison Mathews
- Isaac Bonga
- Jerome Robinson
- Jordan Bell
- Robin Lopez
There’s a chance that Rusell Westbrook and/or Raul Neto could also play, as both were questionable on the injury report. Having either of them out there with this shorthanded roster would be a godsend. We’ve seen Bradley Beal run the offense plenty of times over the past two seasons, but having another point guard besides Cassius Winston, a rookie with two total minutes this season, would make things easier for everyone.
After nearly two weeks off, the Wizards should be well-rested. They’ll need the fresh legs, too, as it seems the Wizards could have as few as nine players available tonight vs. San Antonio. With unusual parts to work with, expect some funky rotations vs. the Spurs and beyond. Until the bulk of the roster returns from health and safety protocols, Scott Brooks will need to get even wackier than usual with the rotations.
The San Antonio Spurs are currently 8-8. They have not had a game postponed this season.