The Washington Wizards haven't had a great season, but with a 30-33 record, they are currently in possession of the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference, which would earn them a spot in the Play-In Tournament. However, they are going to have to keep on winning throughout the remainder of the season, and they have a tall task ahead of them on Sunday with a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. Making matters even worse, they will be without one of their top players in Kyle Kuzma for this big game.
Kuzma has been dealing with some soreness in his right knee as of late, and while it hasn't forced him to miss much time lately, he is still likely feeling the effects of playing 41 minutes and 31 seconds in Washington's overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. As a result, Kuzma's right knee is forcing him to sit out this big game against the Bucks, which is a tough blow for the Wizards.
Via Josh Robbins:
“The Wizards have listed Kyle Kuzma (right knee soreness) as out for tonight's game against the Bucks, joining Monté Morris (lower back soreness) as out. Deni Avdija (stomach bug) is listed as questionable to play.”
Chances are Washington wouldn't have stood much of a shot against Milwaukee anyways, but you can never count yourself out in the NBA. However, considering how good Kuzma has been this season (21.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 44.4 FG%) replacing his production against one of the best teams in the league is going to be very tough. It will be interesting to see how the Wizards do without Kuzma, but expectations should certainly be tempered.