The Washington Wizards have managed to overachieve without All-Star point guard John Wall's knee procedure at the end of January, going an impressive 11-6 since he first went down.
Backcourt mate Bradley Beal has led the league in minutes played, tied with 37.9 minutes per game, alongside fellow All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Beal has been a major part of this team's success without Wall, but the 24-year-old sharpshooter has looked fatigued during the last few games, thanks to the increased load he's charged with during every game as the No. 1 scoring option.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks won't bite the bullet of fatigue for the last three losses, which have bounced the team from fourth to fifth place, a full game behind the Indiana Pacers.
“If you didn’t get rest then, you’re not going to get it coming up,” said Brooks after a Feb. 21 practice, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
Brooks hasn't been a huge proponent of player rest, even denouncing it himself as a former 14-year pro in the league, making his mark as a gritty player off the bench.
“There’s certain cases and certain examples and certain players that probably need it. But that’s very rare in my opinion,” he said at the time. “You’re talking basketball. It’s 32 minutes a night. This is not hard work. This is fun. Rest, to me, rest is a good night sleep.”
Brooks offered that he would look for ways to get his players fresher into games, but warned more extended playing time could be coming Beal's way if the situation calls for it.
“We’ve found ways to be more efficient in practice without putting a lot of wear and tear and heavy loads on the bodies. That factors in, the shoot-arounds factor in, the days off factor in, but it’s easy for people to look at just the minutes. But everything is all part of the pie,” Brooks said. “It’s just not the game minutes. But there are going to be nights where you have to [play a lot]. We were down 17.”
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