Category: Washington Wizards Blog

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Wizards rookie Deni Avdija injured, out for remainder of season

Wizards forward Deni Avdija has been diagnosed with a right fibular hairline fracture following MRI testing conducted earlier today.

There will be no surgery required and the team thinks he’ll be able to make a full recovery in approximately 12 weeks.

Avdija sustained the injury during Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

The rookie from Israel averaged 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.3 minutes per game. He played in 54 games, including 32 starts.

Although his role was limited, Avdija showed solid flashes of potential, and certainly should be a part of the Wizards rotation next season.

The Wizards are on a four-game winning streak

The Wizards are on a four-game winning streak. Via the Washington Post:

Even after they had defeated the league-leading Utah Jazz on the road and conquered Zion Williamson and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans in overtime, perhaps the best test for these streaking Washington Wizards came Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

The opponent? The lowly Detroit Pistons, last in the East yet a victor against Washington already this month. In fact, the Wizards entered Saturday’s contest with a 3-7 record against the five other teams at the bottom of the conference.

Bradley Beal said Friday that his team’s ability to close out a tight win in overtime against New Orleans showed improvement from a squad that has squandered late leads often. The matchup with Detroit offered the opportunity to showcase a different kind of growth.

Even after losing two starters to injury during the game, Washington was up to the task in a commanding 121-100 win.

In the victory, Beal scored 37, Ish Smith scored 16 off the bench, Russell Westbrook put up 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, and Robin Lopez added 15 off the bench.

Wizards sign Jordan Bell to 10-day contract

The Washington Wizards have signed Jordan Bell to a 10-day contract.

Bell will begin his second stint of the season with the Wizards after appearing in the three games with the team in January, where he averaged 3.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He averaged 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in seven games for the Erie BayHawks this season during the NBA G League bubble.

Bell was acquired by the Capital City Go-Go prior to the suspension of the NBA G League season in March of 2020 before being signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in June. Bell has played in 157 games (17 starts) in his four-year NBA career with Golden State, Minnesota Memphis, and Washington, averaging 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He was originally selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Oregon by the Chicago Bulls before being traded to Golden State on draft night.

Some fan attendance will be allowed at Wizards home games starting April 21

The Washington Wizards will welcome fans back to Capital One Arena for the first time this season on Wednesday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. when the team hosts the Golden State Warriors.

Due to the very limited tickets to be made available (attendance will be limited to 2,100 fans, 10% of the venue’s capacity), priority for ticketing will be given to season ticket members, with information forthcoming on ticket availability for the general public. Fans are encouraged to visit https://www.nba.com/wizards/wizticketpresale to sign up for alerts and information regarding individual game ticket access.

The Wizards and Monumental Sports & Entertainment will welcome pre-selected frontline workers to the April 21 game in recognition of their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Extensive upgrades in safety protocol have been put in place in preparation for welcoming fans back to Capital One Arena, including health screening, mobile-only tickets, and seating pods. For more information, fans can visit www.monumentalsports.com/health-safety.

Wizards team notes on 110-107 win over Warriors

The Wizards defeated the Warriors 110-107 for their second-straight win.

Washington won at Golden State for the second-straight season, the first time doing so since the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

The Wizards improved to 4-1 in their “West Coast” games this season, winning all four games by seven-or-fewer points and three by three-or-less.

Washington won its eighth game of the season by three-or-fewer points, improving to 8-4 in those games. Only Portland (9), Sacramento (9) and Charlotte (8) have as many wins by three-or-less this season.

Washington dished 30 assists in the game, its eighth game this season with at least 30 assists.

The Wizards have also tallied consecutive 30+ assist games for the first time since recording four straight from 11/15/19-11/22/19.

Russell Westbrook tallied his league-leading 21st triple-double of the season with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists.

Westbrook has now tallied a triple-double in three-straight games for the fifth time this season, while the rest of the league has three total three-game streaks (Butler, Harden, Antetokounmpo).

Westbrook has also now recorded a triple-double in 10 of his last 13 games.

Bradley Beal scored 20 points, six of which came in the final six seconds – including a completed four-point play to give the Wizards a one-point lead with 6.1 seconds remaining.

Per Elias, Beal became the first player since Paul George on 1/19/19 to give his team the lead with a four-point play in the final six seconds of the game, and the first Wizard to do so in at least the last 20 seasons.

Beal scored 10 of his 20 points, and 10 of Washington’s last 14 points, in the final 3:45 of the game.

This was Beal’s 39th game this season with at least 20 points.

Rui Hachimura finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting from the field, as well as a game-high +13 rating.

This was Hachimura’s seventh 20+ point game in his last 13 games after having two in his previous 29 to start the season.

Hachimura is averaging 18.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while shooting .515 from the field in those 13 games since 3/13.

Robin Lopez went 9-14 from the field for a season-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Lopez has now tied or set his season high in points scored in each of his last five games played (not counting 4/5, where he played nine minutes before leaving due to injury). He is shooting .745 from the field in those five games, averaging 17.8 points per game.

Three-way trade sends Chandler Hutchison to Wizards, Troy Brown Jr. to Bulls, Moe Wagner to Celtics

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have acquired center Daniel Gafford and forward/guard Chandler Hutchison from the Chicago Bulls in a three-way trade that sends forward Troy Brown Jr. to Chicago and center Moe Wagner to the Boston Celtics.

The complete trade details include Boston acquiring Luke Kornet from Chicago, with Daniel Theis and Javonte Green going from Boston to Chicago.

“This trade will help us both in the short term over the second half of the season and in the long term with two young, athletic players who we can continue to develop,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “Daniel brings rim protection and the ability to finish around the basket while Chandler brings toughness on the defensive end, all attributes that complement our current roster.”

Gafford (6-11, 246) has averaged 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting .697 from the field in 74 career games (18 starts) in two seasons with the Bulls. He is currently averaging 4.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting .690 from the field in 31 games (11 starts) this season. Gafford scored a season-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field against the Wizards on December 31.

Originally selected 38th overall by the Bulls in the 2019 NBA Draft, Gafford averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds during his two seasons at the University of Arkansas. He was named to the 2019 SEC All-Defensive Team and First Team All-SEC following his sophomore season at Arkansas.

Hutchison (6-7, 208) holds career averages of 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 79 career games (24 starts) in three seasons with the Bulls. He has appeared in seven games this season. Hutchison averaged 7.8 points in 28 games for Chicago last season.

Originally selected in the first round (22nd overall) by the Bulls in the 2018 NBA Draft, Hutchison averaged 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.48 steals in 31 games as a senior at Boise State to earn Mountain West Player of the Year, All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team honors. He was also named All-Mountain West First Team as a junior and finished his career ranked first in school history in double-doubles and 20/10 games.

“We thank Troy and Moe for their contributions on the court and their commitment to improving our community,” said Sheppard. “We appreciate their efforts and wish them the best as they continue their careers.”

Brown Jr. was originally selected by Washington with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. In three seasons with the Wizards, he averaged 7.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 142 games (32 starts). Wagner was acquired from the Lakers in a three-team trade involving the Pelicans on July 6, 2019. He appeared in 70 games (18 starts) with the Wizards over two seasons, posting averages of 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Wizards swingman Troy Brown’s lost dog has been found

Good news still happens, people.

Via the Washington Times:

Good news all around: Troy Brown and his dog, Dex, have been reunited.

The Washington Wizards’ wing posted a flyer on Twitter on Saturday night that his 2-year-old Shih Tzu/Poodle mix was missing. He offered a $500 reward for Dex’s return.

Dex had been last seen in the Kalorama neighborhood in the District on Friday night.

I’ve never owned a dog, because when I travel it’s usually for weeks or months at a time, but I can imagine what a miserable experience it would be for a dog to go missing. Glad Troy got Dex back.

Bradley Beal named NBA All-Star Game starter for first time

The National Basketball Association announced tonight that Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been voted to start in the NBA All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta. Beal tallied 3,485,051 fan votes, the most among guards in the Eastern Conference, and finished first among guards in the media and player voting. He will be making his third career All-Star appearance and his first career start.

“It is truly an honor to be selected to start in the All-Star game for the first time in my career,” said Beal. “I want to thank the fans, media and players for selecting me to represent the Wizards organization during the All-Star festivities in Atlanta. I also want to thank my teammates, coaches, the entire organization, and our fans who are still supporting us through this unprecedented season.”

Beal currently leads the NBA in scoring with a career-high average of 32.8 points per game to go along with a career-high 5.2 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 4.7 assists per game while shooting .473 from the field. He tallied a career-high and franchise tying high of 60 points on January 6 at Philadelphia.

The nine-year pro has posted 16 games of 30+ points, which ranks second in the league, and is tied for the league lead with three games of 40+ points. Beal began the season with a 17-game streak of 25+ points, which surpassed Michael Jordan’s streak in 1988-89, and ranks as the fifth-longest in league history and the longest streak to start a season since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger. He has scored 786 points in the team’s first 24 games, which marks the most points scored through a player’s first 24 games in franchise history.

Beal joins the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid and the Nets’ Kyrie Irving as Eastern Conference starters. Fans, players, and media determined the starters for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, with fans accounting for 50% of the vote while the players and media accounted for 25% each.

Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Kevin Durant who are the NBA All-Star Game starters who led their respective conferences in fan votes during NBA All-Star Voting 2021 presented by AT&T, will serve as team captains for the Team LeBron vs. Team Durant matchup and draft the rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference. TNT will air the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft on Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m. ET.

And via the Washington Post:

Beal was named an all-star starter for the first time in his career Thursday, becoming the first Wizards player to earn a starting nod since John Wall in 2015. Beal will make his third career all-star appearance when the league holds the showcase in Atlanta on March 7 — he was named as a reserve in 2018 and 2019, one of seven players from each conference as voted by coaches, before being left out completely in 2020…

Beal’s continual growth in his ninth year in the league is part of what makes him such a fascination among fans and a headache among opposing coaches.

The guard’s scoring numbers have been on an upward trend for four straight seasons. Through 24 games this year, Beal is averaging a league-best 32.8 points — a career high — as well as 4.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds.

In his position as franchise cornerstone, he has made the extraordinary look routine. Beal had at least 25 points in each of his first 17 games this season, a stretch that eclipsed Michael Jordan’s record for the longest such streak to start a campaign since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976. In January, Beal dropped 60 points in Philadelphia to tie the Wizards’ single-game franchise scoring record Gilbert Arenas set in 2006.

Even though All-Star weekend will be condensed into one day I’m very glad it’s happening. And Beal probably is, too.

No Bradley Beal for Wizards Friday against the Knicks

The Wizards will be without their star shooting guard tomorrow against the Knicks, as Bradley Beal will be out for rest purposes. Via the Washington Post:

Beal, who leads the league with 32.8 points per game and leads the Wizards with 35.3 minutes per game, will miss his first contest in more than a month. He missed Washington’s 128-124 loss to Miami on Jan. 9 because of the league’s coronavirus protocols, but the guard has not missed a game for rest all season.

The timing is understandable: The Wizards (6-16) are in the midst of a 16-game stretch in 27 days this month because of rescheduling in the wake of the team’s two-week coronavirus pause in January. After Friday, Washington faces the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets back-to-back on Sunday and Monday before playing the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The team then leaves on a West Coast trip with four games in six days.

A fun season-long thing to watch will be chemistry development between Beal and new backcourt-mate Russell Westbrook.