Jared Dudley could make his return this week for the Wizards
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Version 0 of 1. The Washington Wizards’ injury report has not been brief at any point this preseason. There have been major and minor injuries, affecting veterans and young players, from knees and ankles to hips and backs. On Saturday, the Wizards were without five players because of various ailments in their victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Preseason rosters are larger than normal — the Wizards have the maximum 20 allowed on theirs — and the games are inconsequential, but the setbacks have been a detriment for a team attempting to assume a new offensive identity. A key reinforcement, however, is on the way. Nearly three months removed from back surgery, Jared Dudley is expected to make his Wizards debut this week and could be in uniform against the Miami Heat in Washington’s penultimate preseason game Wednesday, one week before its regular season opener. [ Jared Dudley returns to practice, right on schedule ] Dudley began his second week of practice with his most rigorous session yet Monday and reported that he remained pain-free. But the veteran said the decision to play Wednesday wasn’t his alone and that his status remained uncertain, though he definitely expects to play in Washington’s exhibition finale against the Toronto Raptors in Montreal on Friday. “If I don’t go Wednesday, then I would be shocked if I didn’t go at least Friday,” Dudley said. Dudley has progressed since returning to practice, but he emphasized the sessions can’t simulate competitive game action. Practices are controlled settings, programmed to go up and down without the natural, unpredictable flow of games. Conditioning has been the Wizards’ focus in preseason as they look to relentlessly push the pace this season, and Dudley explained he couldn’t reach peak fitness until he plays in games. “The way we want to play isn’t down, back,” Dudley said. “We want to keep it going up and down, up and down. For me, that’s going to be the biggest challenge.” Washington traded for Dudley, who has extensive experience as a stretch-four, over the offseason to play power forward in their revamped pace-and-space offense. A 39.6 percent career three-point shooter, Dudley is expected to slide into the role for an offense that has exhibited significant signs of progress without him. The preseason is largely meaningless. Teams don’t scout opponents, and regulars play limited minutes. And, of their five exhibition contests, the Wizards have played a team from Brazil once and the lowly Philadelphia 76ers twice thus far. But the offense’s advancement still remains encouraging, to an extent: Washington has scored at least 100 points in every game, leads the NBA in offensive efficiency by nearly seven points per 100 possessions, is shooting a league-best 49.8 percent from the field and is second in pace at 106.04 possessions per 48 minutes. Furthermore, the Wizards tallied 105 points and assisted on 31 of their 37 made field goals without all-star point guard John Wall in their win over the Bucks, a promising playoff contender, on Saturday. A night after committing 23 turnovers against the 76ers, the total dropped to 14. “It’s still a work in progress, and we’ll continue to look at it, but they’ve done a nice job with it,” Coach Randy Wittman said. “Obviously scoring hasn’t been a problem with us, what we’ve done there.” Striking the optimal balance between an up-tempo offense and stout defense remains the goal for the Wizards in their final two dress rehearsals. The fitness level such a style requires hasn’t been attained yet, but Wittman said he can help with that in the meantime. “They’ve done a good job understanding how we want to play and trying to play 48 minutes,” Wittman said. “Right now, I see a drop-off just when we get tired. And so I’ve got to do a good job recognizing that, getting guys in and out.” He’ll have another body in Dudley at his disposal sometime this week as the Wizards’ injury list finally dwindles in time for the regular season. Wizards notes: Martell Webster, sidelined since the first week of October, recently traveled to Nebraska for a second opinion on his injured right hip, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Webster, who has said he is dealing with arthritis in the hip, went to the same doctors over the summer for physical therapy. Garrett Temple (hamstring) returned to practice Monday, but Nene (calf), DeJuan Blair (knee) and Alan Anderson (ankle) were held out. Anderson underwent surgery on his left ankle last week and is expected to miss a significant portion of the season. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Dudley underwent back surgery nearly four months ago. |