Nobody will be happier to see the preseason end than the Washington Wizards; when it had gone on any longer, they’d have run out of bodies completely.
Together with Martell Webster already on the shelf after his third back operation in four seasons, the harms just kept coming.
Bradley Beal fractured his wrist, Glen Rice Jr. wrapped his ankle, Kris Humphries ripped open his arm onto the rim (since when are these things sharp?) , requiring surgery. John Wall was restricted with knee tendinitis.
The Wizards’ oldest player managed to live the exhibition slate unscathed. Paul Pierce, place to start at small forward for the Wiz, offered some veteran outlook on the parade to the coach’s table, per Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post:”It’s been tough. It’s been hard. We have not had a complete squad most of the preseason. The key is understanding it is a long season. The crucial thing is to get healthy.”
When the collective swelling recedes and all the stitches hold, Washington can nevertheless make great on the lofty expectations it set last season. Forty-four wins got people thinking in D.C., and the Wizards confront a world where anything less than a top-four seed will constitute a disappointment.
Demands like which are as sterile as they’re daunting, especially for a company with little success in its recent past. In 33-1, the Wiz are not completely out of the tournament film, but they’re still a notch below the East’s elite.
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