Bradley Beal — after a solid and promising rookie campaign — is out for the remainder of the season with a stress injury to his right fibula.
The stress fracture came about because Beal played through injuries to both ankles and was trying to compensate.
So Beal, you want to have a do over that? What do you think he told J. Michael of CSNWashington.com?“Should I have?” Beal said rhetorically. “No. But I was going to play regardless because I’m a hard-headed kid. That’s just how I am. I’m always competitive. I always want to play…
“I was glad that it was nothing too serious but I’m still upset by the fact that I can’t play. ... I had a feeling it really wasn’t my ankle. It ended up being my fibula, but I’m glad its a stress reaction rather than a fracture or possibly broken. It’s nothing too painful. I can walk around, as long as I’m not running or jumping.”
There is a line between hurt and injured. Guys can play hurt. But if you have an injury, and playing through that injury is going to make things worse, than you sit. It sounds obvious but for competitive guys it can be a challenging lesson to learn. Same with some veterans, too.
Beal is learning it the hard way, but wanting to play is not something you climb on kids for. The good news is it isn’t serious — the injury or the end of the Wizards season — so no harm done.
But he is another reason Washington should be optimistic about next season… if they can just stay healthy.