In the midst of an already bad enough stretch, the Washington Wizards got more bad news on Monday. The team announced star Bradley Beal will miss the next two games with a sprained left wrist.
Beal will then be reevaluated and an update provided at that time, but there is no guarantee he will be limited to missing just two games. Losers of five straight games, the Wizards will now face the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers without Beal.
The recent stretch of poor play has dropped the Wizards all the way down to the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference. While this could be seen as an opportunity for others to step and, which it is, it is still hard to imagine any route the Wizards win one of the games, let alone both.
The 6ers and Bucks are among the better teams in the conference. Seven teams currently are within two wins of each other at the top of the East, so both opponents have reason to play inspired.
The Wizards are unwilling to play inspired recently and it seems as if it is only getting worse. We don’t know if the injury will longer or keep Beal out for an extended period of time, but there’s a possibility this news ends up being the final dagger in them being relevant this season.
With Beal out, added pressure will be on players like Kyle Kuzma, who has been playing very well this season already. The Wizards will also need more offensive production from Spencer Dinwiddie, who has been inconsistent, to say the least.