The 2020-21 season hasn’t gotten off to the start the Washington Wizards wanted, as they fell to 2-8 on Saturday with a loss to the Heat while without Bradley Beal who is currently in the league’s health and safety protocol after a postgame conversation with Jayson Tatum earlier in the week who tested positive.
Aside from Beal, who continues to be one of the NBA’s best offensive players, one of the few bright spots thus far for the Wizards has been the play of center Thomas Bryant. The fourth year big man is averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on tremendous efficiency, shooting 64.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range to start the season. It was a leap the Wizards hoped to see, but on Saturday, his season was cut short as he went down with a knee injury on a rebound attempt early in the first quarter.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Bryant’s MRI had confirmed the worst and his season was indeed over after having torn his ACL.
Bryant will be lost for the season. https://t.co/wVMrJnxao9
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 10, 2021
It’s a brutal blow for both Bryant and the Wizards, as he was enjoying a career year and provided Washington with tremendous energy and spacing on the offensive end. Scott Brooks will have to get creative with lineups to account for Bryant’s absence, as Robin Lopez figures to get more minutes and Washington also will probably play more small ball to keep their spacing intact. Hopefully Bryant is able to make a full recovery and come back in full next season, because he had been one of the early breakout players in the NBA this season.