Rui Hachimura likely out for Wizards vs. Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Wizards are likely to be without starting power forward Rui Hachimura on Wednesday when they host the Golden State Warriors, as Hachimura continues to deal with soreness in his left knee.
Hachimura sat out the team's practice on Tuesday, instead getting treatment from the Wizards' medical staff. Wednesday would be his second consecutive game missed due to the injury.
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"I would say he’s out for tomorrow. He’s feeling better, he’s walking around better," head coach Scott Brooks said.
Brooks said the team won't rush Hachimura back, even though they're in the playoff race.
"It will heal day-by-day," he said. "We’d love to have him back, but we’re not going to push him back like we wouldn’t push anybody back."
Assuming Hachimura sits on Wednesday, that would be the 11th game he's missed this season and the 35th of his career. He has not played in 28 percent of the Wizards' 126 games since he was drafted in 2019.
Most of those absences, however, weren't due to injuries, or at least not common ones. Last year, he was inadvertently kicked in the groin by a teammate and required a procedure that forced him to sit out more than a month. He began this year sidelined with conjunctivitis in his eyes and then missed time in Covid-19 protocol.
Earlier this month, he missed two games due to a minor shoulder strain and now has a knee injury that does not sound serious. These most recent two issues have been basketball-related injuries. The rest can probably just be chalked up to bad luck.
Either way, the Wizards will hope he comes back sooner than later. They have won seven of eight games, including Monday's when he was out, but he's developed into one of the best players in their rotation.
