The Injury Bug Bites Early For The Washington Wizards

Coming into the 2009-2010 season, it was said that the success of the Washington Wizards would be dependent on depth and the health of their key players.

Depth isn't an issue thus far, but two games into the season, injuries are slowly piling up.

Antawn Jamison suffered a shoulder injury in a preseason game and will be out until late November. The Wizards made due without him against the Mavericks, leaving Dallas with a 102-91 victory.

They weren't so lucky leaving Atlanta.

Caron Butler suffered a bruised knee in the second quarter against the Hawks, and is questionable for the home opener against the New Jersey Nets.

Health has been the Achilles heel of the Wizards in recent years. The loss of Gilbert Arenas and Butler at the end of the 2006-2007 season caused them to stall in the playoffs.

Arenas remained sidelined for the 2007-2008 season and Butler missed 20 games due to injury. Despite pushing their playoff series against the Cavaliers to six games, the Wizards could not limp any further.

The awful showing last season was a result of Arenas' continuing recovery from his multiply knee surgeries, and the loss of Brendan Haywood for all but six games.

This season was supposed to be different.

The Wizards opened the preseason as healthy as they have ever been. Haywood was back, Arenas looked great, everyone was in better shape this season than in seasons past.

Just when things looked to be going Washington's way.

The Wizards are already down one star player, they can't possibly afford to lose two. Andray Blatche is looking like a good option to fill in for Jamison for the time being, but how do you replace the leadership and hard-nosed play of Butler?

Head coach Flip Saunders will have to utilize the depth he has available to limit the impact of the losses the Wizards have suffered.

Dominic McGuire will see an increased role until Butler returns, and Mike Miller might be seeing the bulk of his time come at small forward. One positive that can be taken from the loss of Butler is the ability for Saunders to rotate even more players in at both guard spots.

Randy Foye has been great in his role of the bench, and will see his time on the court increase as he improves. Nick Young will more than likely see more minutes with Miller occupying the small forward more than usual, and his offensive abilities will be greatly appreciated.

The Wizards will have to suffer with what they have as Butler and Jamison recover from their respective injuries. A season that once held a ton of potential is slowly sinking into the familiar stench of an infirmary.

And there is still 80 games left.