The Washington Wizards extended their season with a 122-114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, but it came at a cost. Wizards sharpshooter Davis Bertans suffered a Grade 2 calf strain and will be out 4-6 weeks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bertans had 15 points in 23 minutes in the Game 4 victory before leaving with the injury. While the Latvian has had an uneven series, his shooting — and simply the threat of it — is an important part of the Wizards' explosive offensive attack.
After a sluggish start to the season, the 28-year-old rebounded to shoot 39.5% from 3-point range. Bertans averaged 11.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game in the regular season. He earned a five-year, $80 million deal from the Wizards after a career season in 2019-20 in which he averaged 15.4 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 42.4% from long distance.
Washington's chances of coming back to stun the Sixers in this series were already very low before this injury, even with Joel Embiid dealing with a knee issue. Russell Westbrook has been playing through an injury, and we know Bradley Beal was recently dealing with a hamstring issue. Losing Bertans' shooting will hurt Washington's offense and allow Philly to focus more on the two star guards.
The Wizards will try to extend their season again with a win in Game 5 on Wednesday.