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  6. article_body => "<p>The Wizards were again without two of their most prominent offseason additions on Wednesday, the second day of their 2018-19 training camp, as Dwight Howard (back soreness) and Austin Rivers (neck spasms) were not a full-go.<\/p>\n<p>Howard again sat out for the entirety of the practice, while Rivers was dressed in practice gear but did not participate in contact drills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rivers at least appears to be trending in the right direction, as head coach Scott Brooks said he \"felt much better\" the day after leaving Tuesday's practice with neck discomfort. Howard, on the other hand, doesn't appear as close to returning as initially thought.<\/p>\n<p>\"He's progressing, but it's going to be a couple more days before we see how he feels there,\" Brooks said.<\/p>\n<p>That means Howard could end up sitting out most of, if not all of, the rest of training camp. The Wizards close camp on Saturday as they look ahead to their first preseason game on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n<p>The Wizards continue to refer to Howard's injury as minor and Howard himself believes it was sustained from flying on cramped planes this offseason. It is not believed to be related to the back issues that plagued Howard earlier in his career.<\/p>\n<p>It is also worth noting the Wizards do not play their first regular season game until Oct. 18 and Howard, a 14-year NBA veteran, knows how to get himself prepared for a new season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But any time he can spend developing chemistry with his new teammates is valuable. Howard signed as a free agent with the Wizards in July.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE WIZARDS NEWS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jimmy Butler to Miami?:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/wizards\/heat-potentially-trading-jimmy-butler-would-only-add-wizards-competition-east\">Wizards' competition in east would only get tougher<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Veteran Advice:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/wizards\/bradley-beal-and-otto-porter-jr-offer-advice-kelly-oubre-jr\">Beal, Porter give Oubre advice before contract year<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Better on D?:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/wizards\/wizards-believe-dwight-howard-can-make-them-one-nbas-best-defensive-teams\">Wizards feel they can be top-10 defensive team<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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Wizards

Wizards

The Wizards were again without two of their most prominent offseason additions on Wednesday, the second day of their 2018-19 training camp, as Dwight Howard (back soreness) and Austin Rivers (neck spasms) were not a full-go.

Howard again sat out for the entirety of the practice, while Rivers was dressed in practice gear but did not participate in contact drills. 

Rivers at least appears to be trending in the right direction, as head coach Scott Brooks said he "felt much better" the day after leaving Tuesday's practice with neck discomfort. Howard, on the other hand, doesn't appear as close to returning as initially thought.

"He's progressing, but it's going to be a couple more days before we see how he feels there," Brooks said.

That means Howard could end up sitting out most of, if not all of, the rest of training camp. The Wizards close camp on Saturday as they look ahead to their first preseason game on Oct. 1.

The Wizards continue to refer to Howard's injury as minor and Howard himself believes it was sustained from flying on cramped planes this offseason. It is not believed to be related to the back issues that plagued Howard earlier in his career.

It is also worth noting the Wizards do not play their first regular season game until Oct. 18 and Howard, a 14-year NBA veteran, knows how to get himself prepared for a new season. 

But any time he can spend developing chemistry with his new teammates is valuable. Howard signed as a free agent with the Wizards in July.

 

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