Washington Wizards Will Struggle To Start Season After Bradley Beal’s Injury

By Dave Daniels @AllDave_AllDay on October 11, 2014

The Washington Wizards will enter the 2014-2015 season with playoff expectations, but the team was dealt a serious blow after talented guard Bradley Beal was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist. He is now expected to miss two months due to an injury suffered in the first half of Friday’s exhibition game in Greenville, S.C. against the Charlotte Hornets.

P.J. Hairston fouled Beal on the play, and the shooting guard did not return after shooting the free throws.

John Wall will definitely miss his running mate for those two months, and Paul Pierce will now need to step up his minutes even more than initially expected. The Wizards should still grind their way to the playoffs, but they just might not get there as easily now that their floor spacing has been greatly diminished.

The injury was initially called a sprain, then an MRI revealed on Saturday that Beal has a non-displaced fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist, which will require surgery. It is not yet known when that will take place.

The guard averaged over 17 points per game last season and helped lead Washington to a first-round playoff series win over the Chicago Bulls. They eventually exited the postseason in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

This is not the first sign of trouble for D.C., because forward Kris Humphries and guard Martell Webster are also going to miss time due to injury. The Wizards’ season is not doomed yet, but there is certainly cause for concern because Beal had been such a bright spot last season.

There was even talk that he and Wall were the best backcourt in the league, however, you can’t be the greatest when you aren’t on the floor.

Dave Daniels is a Prep Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.