Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal indicated that his nagging hamstring injury will keep him from being at 100 percent when the Wizards take on the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Bradley Beal talking like he’ll give it a go tomorrow in Boston: "There’s no setback. I didn’t injure it any worse than it already, so that’s positive. Obviously it won’t be 100 percent. I’ve just got to manage it the best I can."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 17, 2021
Beal played through the injury and avoided any further aggravation when he closed out the regular season on Sunday by scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Bradley Beal said his choice to play through injury yesterday was a “hard-headed decision to play when I probably shouldn’t have, but we made the best of it.” Says eighth place was important to him. Said “the medical staff wasn’t 100 percent with it. Some were. Some weren’t."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 17, 2021
Having Beal in the lineup is imperative for the Wizards to have much hope of advancing into the traditional portion of the postseason.
The Wizards enjoyed a late-season surge after they were written off in early April with a record of 17-32. However, over the remaining schedule, the Wizards won 17 of their final 23 contests.
Just how important Beal is to the Wizards can be seen in his regular season averages for this season. He put up 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
How effective Beal can be with the frustrating injury remains a question mark, but the Wizards are hoping that he can deliver on the court Tuesday night.
