The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: While the loss of starting center Brendan Haywood, who needs wrist surgery and will miss four to six months, is a blow to the Washington Wizards, the team is rather well-prepared for this type of situation. Last year, the Wizards lost center Etan Thomas to a heart operation that sidelined him for the entire season. Only eight games into the season, franchise player Gilbert Arenas had a second surgery on his left knee and missed 66 consecutive games. And fellow All-Star Caron Butler missed 24 games of his own with injuries. But Washington found a way to overcome the absences and reach the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The year before that, All-Star forward Antawn Jamison missed 12 games with injury, and Butler and Arenas both went down in April with hand and knee injuries, respectively. Again, the Wizards held on down the stretch to make the playoffs.
