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Woj: Wizards' Bradley Beal to Return from Hamstring Injury vs. Knicks
January 18, 2023
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is reportedly planning to play in Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news, which comes after Beal missed the last five games with a hamstring strain.
Washington dropped four of the five games Beal missed, dropping to 18-26 on the season.
Beal is averaging 22.9 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season. While he's shooting a career-high 52.5 percent from the floor, that increase in efficiency has led to a massive drop in volume. Beal's points per game have dropped precipitously since he set a career high of 31.3 in 2020-21, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he missed his second straight All-Star game.
That's not exactly what Washington envisioned when Beal signed a five-year, $251 million contract to remain with the franchise this offseason.
Beal is actually second on the Wizards in field goal attempts per game, shooting 1.6 fewer times per night than Kyle Kuzma. While Kuzma is in the midst of his own career year, the math doesn't add up to make that formula for winning basketball given Kuz is making his shots at a clip 6.8 percent worse than Beal.
The Wizards will have to hope Beal's return to the lineup sparks a return to the aggressive style of play that led to him making three All-Star teams.
