Covid-ravaged Wizards happy to be in San Antonio
Heading into Sunday night’s game at the AT&T Center, the Washington Wizards had dropped 20 consecutive games in San Antonio.
They had not won here since Dec. 11, 1999, when the Spurs played at the Alamodome.
Yet, there was no place the Wizards would rather be.
It marked Washington’s first game since a Jan. 11 victory over Phoenix, which was followed by a six-game string of Covidrelated postponements.
“It’s good to be back,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said before tipoff.
The Wizards were hardly at full strength Sunday. They played with six players still out because of the NBA’S health and safety protocols, including former Spurs sharpshooter Davis Bertans.
The team signed a pair of centers before leaving Washington on Saturday — Jordan Bell and Alex Len — just to help fill out the roster with warm, healthy bodies.
At one point last week, Brooks had to run 5-on-0 drills in practice, because Washington did not have enough cleared players for 5-on-5.
It was a situation that had Brooks’ counterpart on the Spurs’ bench shaking his head.
“There’s no playbook for that right?” Gregg Popovich said. “That’s just an awful situation.
With all that in mind, what was left of the Wizards was glad to be back on the floor Sunday. They were glad to be anywhere that wasn’t their house.
The 13-day layoff was not tantamount to a vacation, Brooks said.
“It was not easy for any us,” Brooks said. “It’s not like we were taking a break and could go to some beach and enjoy the All-star break. We were basically in isolation.”
There was one place Wizards players and staff were allowed to go during their hiatus. In fact, it was mandatory under league protocol.
Twice a day — once in the morning and once at night — players and staff members had
to report to the parking lot at the team practice facility for COVID-19 testing.
The trip was made more daunting given a near-lockdown in the nation’s capital in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the lead-up to the Wednesday inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV said he could not imagine what the past two weeks have been like for the Wizards.
“For the most part, the past year and a half has been a little bit different,” Walker said. “You kind of have to expect the unexpected, go with the flow and find your way through it all.”
Brooks and the Wizards were glad to be out of this particular flow.
“I just hope we never have to deal with this again,” Brooks said. “That’s behind us, and
hopefully we can concentrate on playing basketball for the rest of the season.
Murray returns after injuring ankle Friday
Dejounte Murray’s stay on the injured list lasted less than one game.
The Spurs’ starting point guard, who tweaked his left ankle in the opening minute of Friday night’s loss to Dallas and missed the remainder of that game, was back in the lineup Sunday.
Murray came into the night averaging 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, career bests in all categories.
COVID puts Bertans’ season on hold
For reasons largely beyond
Bertans’ control, he has struggled to live up to the five-year, $80-million payday he earned to return to the Wizards this offseason.
His scoring average has dipped to 11.8 points on 36percent 3-point shooting in 11 games.
Bertans got a late start on an already abbreviated training camp after visa issues delayed his arrival from Latvia.
He seemed to find his legs against Phoenix, scoring 18 points and making 6 of 9 from long range, only to find himself in COVID protocols for an undetermined period.
“We miss him,” Brooks said. “He’s an elite shooter. Elite. He’s going to be a big part of our team in the future.”