On the night the Wizards celebrated the return of three players from the injured list, two others got hurt.
Forward Antawn Jamison (shoulder sprain) and guard DeShawn Stevenson (ankle sprain), both injured in the final frantic 10 seconds of Wednesday’s 110-109 loss to Milwaukee, did not practice Thursday.
While Jamison is doubtful for tonight’s game against the Miami Heat, Stevenson expects to play, keeping his string of 243 consecutive starts intact.
“It seems like every time we get our whole team back, someone else gets hurt,” said Stevenson. “It sucks when we get our whole team back and it’s always some little thing that happens.”
The woes for the injury-riddled Wizards even extend to the coaching staff as Eddie Jordan (sinus headache) missed Thursday’s practice, turning the reigns over to assistant Mike O’Koren.
Gilbert Arenas, who played Wednesday for the first time since undergoing knee surgery in November, practiced yesterday without incident, but ducked the media for a second straight day.
“Everything was all right with him this morning, as far as any type of swelling or soreness,” said O’Koren. “He went through practice, as light as it was, and he looked fine.”
O’Koren expects Arenas, who scored 17 points in 19 minutes Wednesday, to come off the bench tonight and to remain in that role until he regains his wind.
With a win tonight, the Wizards would clinch a playoff berth. Washington (38-37) is tied with Philadelphia (38-37) and Toronto (38-37) for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
