Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant went down in pain in the first quarter of the Wizards’ Saturday game against the Miami Heat. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that Bryant has suffered a torn left ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2020-2021 season.
Washington Wizards C Thomas Bryant has suffered a torn ACL to his left knee, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 10, 2021
Bryant was having a career year thus far, averaging a career high 14.3 points and shooting 64.8 percent from the field and 43.9 percent on 2.1 3-point attempts per game. He was also averaging 6.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. Bryant was an integral part of the offense with his ability to score off of offensive rebounds, run the pick and roll with Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal as well as provide some outside shooting. He even had a game-winning dunk earlier this season against the Brooklyn Nets.
The loss of Bryant will be a huge blow for a Wizards team that was already struggling to win games, and they will miss the scoring and rebounding ability he provided them. Robin Lopez, as well as Moritz Wagner and Anzejs Pasecniks will be tasked with filling the 27.1 minutes a game Bryant was playing, but the Wizards will likely look to the free agent market or a trade in order to help salvage their season. They could also adopt a small ball approach, and play Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans at the 4 and 5 positions, although this would likely compound their defensive struggles further, as Hachimura and Bertans are both negative defenders.
All stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference
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