There weren’t any real revelations or surprising runs at the Olympics for Wizards big men Nene and Kevin Seraphin, whose national teams – Brazil and France, respectively – both headed home after getting eliminated in the quarterfinals in London.
Brazil beat Spain – or was allowed to beat Spain – in its final group game to finish round-robin play with a 4-1 record before losing to Argentina, 82-77. France also went 4-1, reeling off four straight wins after dropping its opening game against the U.S. The French imploded at the end of their quarterfinal loss to the Spaniards, with Ronny Turiaf and Nicolas Batum both committing nasty intentional fouls in the closing minutes.
Nene led the Brazilians in rebounding (8.0 per game) and was fourth in average minutes played, just under 22 per game. But while he scored 7.0 points per contest, he also sat out one game with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a condition that he’s carried since the end of the NBA season.
While Nene can use the next month and a half to rest – he’ll turn 30 next month – he also in need of of a chance to settle himself in Washington. He spoke during his visit to D.C. with the Brazilian team last month of finding an apartment close to Verizon Center.
Meanwhile, Seraphin didn’t get quite the opportunity that Wizards coach Randy Wittman gave him over the latter half of the NBA season. The youngest player on the team at age 22, Seraphin averaged 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game off the bench.
Back in D.C., both Nene and Seraphin will be crucial to Washington’s hopes for next season, potentially as the team’s starting pair in the front court.
