There’s a good chance Russell Westbrook makes his Wizards debut on Thursday vs. the Pistons, coach Scott Brooks tells FortyEightMinutes and other media on the post-practice zoom call in Washington. Bradley Beal also is likely to suit up in the preseason contest.
Davis Bertans is unlikely to suit up so soon. “We’re just slowly working him in,” Brooks said of Bertans, who didn’t arrive to training camp on time because of a visa issue.
Bertans recently signed a five-year, $80 million deal and he said that he doesn’t anticipate the deal changing his approach to the game or the way he carries himself. The 28-year-old joked that coach Brooks recently asked him for a Starbucks gift card.
More From Washington
- The “no dunk rule” for Westbrook is real. “If Westbrook dunks, the rest of the team runs,” Brooks explained. The team simply wants to keep Westbrook fresh and the star point guard is on the same page despite joking about it.
- Found out that Westbrook is left-handed during the zoom call today. Not breaking news, but news to me.
- Rui Hachimura had an issue with his eye and didn’t practice on Tuesday. Brooks says he should be back at it on Wednesday.
- Ish Smith returned to practice. While some may have thought that Smith would get less run after the John Wall-Westbrook swap, he’s still expected to get some spot starts with the Wizards using a similar approach to managing Westbrook as they would have Wall.
- Wizards might play some zone defense on Thursday night, Brooks says, for those concerned with their defensive strategy.
