It’s the same story, different year for Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards. It was announced on Saturday that the Wizards shooting guard will miss at least two weeks as he has “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula.”
Beal, 22, is in his fourth season and this is the fourth time, once in each season, that he has suffered a leg injury that forced him to miss an extended amount of time. Beal dealt with the same thing on the same leg back in February.
This is the second injury Beal has dealt with this season, the other being a shoulder injury where he missed two weeks. Luckily, he only missed three games as the Wizards had a light schedule. He won’t be so lucky this time, as he’ll miss two weeks and then be reevaluated. So depending on the how well the stress reaction his healing will depend on how many more games he’ll miss.
What makes this more interesting is the fact the very talented Beal is in a contract year. He is expected to garner a max contract, something the Wizards have been reluctant to do thus far. With the unfortunate injury history, you can’t blame Washington to be cautious when deciding on giving a max contract. However, with the salary cap getting ready to explode, Beal will have plenty of suitors no matter his injury history.
Even though Washington will have to think this through, it’s hard to think they wouldn’t offer Beal a max contract. He’s still young and is one part of one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league.
In 17 games this season, Beal has averaged a career-high 19.8 PPG. He has really improved his game this season, as he is more prone to drive to the basket instead of settling for long two-pointers.
Washington has been bit by the injury bug all season and it shows with the 9-12 record entering Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Not only is Beal out for the second time this season, but Nene (calf), Drew Gooden (calf), Kris Humphries (ankle) and Alan Anderson (ankle) are all out.