Washington, D.C—
Everyone says that Preseason doesn’t really count for what the team will amount to during the regular season, but today the Wizards had a chance to see what it would be like without having Bradley Beal in the line-up for at least 6 to 8 weeks. The team seemed to rally around their leader John Wall to get it done when it most mattered in the final minute of the game today.
John Wall led the Wizards (3-1) with 15 points in their preseason home opener and Marcin Gortat added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Seraphin scored 14 points, including the go-ahead dunk that made it 90-89 with 5.7 seconds remaining.
The Wizards continued to get some help from their veterans including the 39 year old Andre Miller, who just continues to make things happen for this team with his leadership.
In the absence of Bradley Beal, Xavier Silas scored 10 points for Washington. Beal had surgery Sunday for the non-displaced fracture in his left wrist that he suffered Friday night against Charlotte in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Pistons got a little bad news of their own today when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as he sprained his left knee in the third quarter and had to leave the game.
“I thought our guys bounced back and competed pretty well. They are concerned now, but I thought they hung in there pretty good. He has a knee sprain, we will reevaluate it going forward. We will get him an MRI and we will go from there, said Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy.
Andre Drummond led the Pistons (2-1) with 21 points, making all nine of his shots. Former Hoyas Center Greg Monroe added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“We have a few things to work on before we head to Miami for the season opener. We are doing a lot of things right and it starts with the veteran leadership we have in this locker room said,” Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman.
