Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal is expected to return to practice on Tuesday after sitting out the past two games with lower right leg soreness, the team announced after ruling him out for Monday's game against the Miami Heat.
The Wizards managed to do just fine without him, getting an encouraging win against the Heat after Jordan McRae caught fire and went off for a team-high 29 points.
The Wizards have had one of the highest-rated offenses with Beal present, as his gaudy averages of 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game have aided them to a 10-22 record thus far.
Washington recently bolstered the backcourt with the signing of Gary Payton II, who has been a thief among men, collecting 16 steals in his first four games since making his NBA debut. Mired in the G League, Payton finally received his shot after attending Oregon State, much like his father did many years ago.
Payton II possesses a lot of the innate ball-picking instincts his father, named “The Glove” for his suffocating defense, did in his heyday.
Beal's eventual return to the lineup should see Payton lose some minutes, as he did on Monday against the Heat, but he won't fall out of Scott Brooks' rotation that easy, especially when he's playing such good defensive basketball since getting some run.
The Wizards are hoping to be careful with Beal, given how he's now moved into the chair of the franchise player — one they must keep healthy at all costs.
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