Report: Wizards’ Nene could be out for the rest of the season to injury

Report: Wizards’ Nene could be out for the rest of the season to injury by Ben Mehic

Jan 15, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards power forward Nene (42) celebrates with Wizards power forward Trevor Booker (35) against the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 114-97. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Wizards have dodged another bullet.

After initial fears caused everyone to think Wizards’ big man, Nene, would miss the entire season to a left knee injury suffered mid-way through the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, reports have surfaced stating that he only has a sprained MCL.

Nene is expected to be lost to the Wizards for four-to-six weeks, league source tells Yahoo. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 24, 2014

Nene will be out 4-6 weeks, leaving enough time for him to return before the post-season. Washington has the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA by winning percentage and they should be able to maintain a playoff spot. They’re currently 5th in the Eastern Conference.

Even though this isn’t great news by any means, it’s still better than the dreaded “out indefinitely” or “out for the season.” Granted, we don’t know if Nene will suffer any setbacks, but if all goes well, the Wizards should have him back before the season is completed.

Let’s hope all goes well in the next couple weeks, because Nene will almost certainly be reevaluated in the coming weeks. He’s probably Washington’s second most important player on the roster, so it’ll be tough to make up for his production, but with that said, the Wizards need Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin to increase their play. Al Harrington has also gotten some minutes over the past few games, and I expect his minutes to increase over the next few weeks. Washington still has an open roster spot and they could potentially sign a free agent before March 1st, which is the deadline for playoff eligible free agents. There aren’t many intriguing names on the market, but the Wizards could still search around the NBA Developmental League for a big man.

All in all, the Wizards dodged a bullet with this one. Get well soon, Nene.