Preseason injuries are piling up for Washington
Ick, yuck, ugh, Berliner.
The Wizards injury-riddled preseason reached an unsightly low Tuesday in Berlin. In their NBA Europe Live Tour opener, the Wizards trailed by as many as 41 points en route to a 96-80 loss to New Orleans.
“They went uptown and we went downtown,” said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan of a first half in which Washington was out-shot 56 percent to 23 percent and committed 13 turnovers.
But with six veterans out of the lineup, there was a good reason. Antonio Daniels (hip, knee), Juan Dixon (calf) and Nick Young (knee) are the latest casualties. Daniels and Antawn Jamison (knee) are expected back for the Wizards game Friday in Barcelona, again versus the Hornets.
On Tuesday, New Orleans (4-0) scored the first 18 points behind Chris Paul (9 points, 11 assists) and continued to pour it on behind reserves Rasual Butler (20 points) and James Posey (17 points).
In the second half, however, Washington (1-3) showed life behind free agent DerMarr Johnson (19 points) and DeShawn Stevenson (15 points), who hit 5 of 8 three-pointers. Center Etan Thomas (10 points) and forward Dominic McGuire (8 rebounds, 4 assists) also had their moments.
