Wizards are slowly getting healthier, and they need the help fast

SALT LAKE CITY – The low tone in Rui Hachimura’s voice Thursday gave a hint of what the last month has been like for the 2019 No. 9 overall pick out of Gonzaga.

He had just played his first game in 34 days after a bone bruise in his ankle took much longer to heal than originally anticipated, and during that span all Hachimura could do was watch as the team lost 10 straight and other teammates went in and out of the lineup with a variety of ailments.

The Wizards (12-21) won just three of 16 games with Hachimura out.

“I was just on the sideline watching my teammates losing the game,” Hachiumra said before hustling to the bus after a 120-112 loss to the Jazz. “So, you know, it was tough for me.”

Hachimura was no savior against the Jazz and certainly isn’t expected to be, but his return brought some optimism the team is getting healthier. That optimism was tempered by the fact that Kristaps Porzingis (non-COVID illness) missed his second straight game and Deni Avdija was held out after tweaking his back during the morning’s shoot-around. But help seems to be on the way.

Porzingis’s illness is not a long-term issue, and Avdija is listed as day-to-day. Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Delon Wright (hamstring) has been playing 3-on-3 and could return soon.

Every team in the league deals with injuries, but the Wizards have been hit particularly hard. As of Monday, Washington ranked fourth in the NBA in lost value over replacement player due to injury, according to ManGamesLost.com. Bradley Beal, Wright and Hachimura have missed a combined 57 games. Add 17 more between Porzingis, Corey Kispert and Monte Morris, and that’s a lot of absences for core members of the rotation. The Wizards have used 10 starting lineups in 33 games entering Friday’s contest at Sacramento. Building chemistry and continuity has been difficult for a team that began the season with playoff aspirations.

Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy said it was tough to scout Washington because of all the moving parts.

“In a situation like Washington, you have to try to go back and find games where everybody’s healthy,” Hardy said, “because you just want to see how the balance of power is when everybody is healthy. We have to go back and find the games where we feel like it’s a good representation of what a team looks like when they’re whole.”

Kyle Kuzma, who has started all but one game this season, leaned back in his chair inside the visitor’s locker room of Vivint Arena after the 14th loss in 16 games and was tired of the excuses. He wasn’t happy with the team’s record before the injuries really began to pile up, but the Wizards started 3-1 before Wright went down.

“Obviously, you want to be healthy,” Kuzma said, “and a lot of our losses, and maybe not knowing how to play with each other, comes from (not) being healthy. But at the end of the day, we’ve all got to be better.”

That lack of time together has compounded the chemistry issues. Morris, Wright and Will Barton are all in their first year with the team. Porzingis was acquired after Beal was lost for the remainder of last season after having wrist surgery, so that playing relationship is still fairly fresh. Jordan Goodwin is in the rotation for the first time after playing just two games as a rookie last season. That’s a lot of people who have limited court time together.

“It’s tough sometimes because as guys get hurt, it’s always the next-man-up mentality,” Kuzma said. “Guys come in, and it’s exciting because you have an opportunity to do a little bit more, usually, when you don’t have a healthy roster. But at the same time, it causes a lot of friction. Missing Deni tonight was tough. Probably would have helped a little bit with four perimeter players (on the Jazz) scoring (almost) 20.”

Unseld often notes no one is going to feel sorry for his team, but it’s easy to assume more time together as a whole unit could have positively impacted these Wizards.

“It was a big obstacle we had to get over when we had the 10-game losing streak,” Daniel Gafford said. “But we stuck together and we kept fighting. That’s the main thing. We stayed locked in. We came in every day with the mindset just to be better than the day before. Main mindset throughout that little stretch – we’re getting guys back and we’re going to keep it moving.”

“Unfortunate in the moment, but I think at some point we’ll get all our bodies back,” Unseld said. “And we’ll be whole.”