The Washington Post - 02.11.2019

D6 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 , 2019

tionable if they were good shots or

not, but they’re good shots for

me,” Bertans said. “I always work

on just making those wide-open

ones, and then, if you even make

30 percent of the tough ones,

you’re still going to be close to

50 percent.”

While the Wizards have rotat-

ed their reserves, Wagner and

Bertans often have played togeth-

er. Between the two, Bertans is the

known three-point threat, so

Wagner stretching to the perim-

eter has opened up more scoring

opportunities.

“That definitely helps,” Bertans

said. “Just having a big man who

can just spread the floor and

especially with [Wagner’s] ability

— he can roll to the basket and get

some looks there. And then one

out of four times, just pop to the

three-point line. The defense is

not ready for that....

“It kind of messes with the

other team a lot and just kind of

opens up everything for other

players sometimes when people

start worry about him shooting.”

[email protected]

Bertans honed his shooting

reputation with the San Antonio

Spurs. Guided by the advice of a

former Spurs coach, Bertans

wants to be the best wide-open

shooter he can be. While mostly

finding his shots in spot-up situa-

tions (he scores 1.60 points per

possession in that situation), Ber-

tans has shot 66.7 percent on open

shots, defined as when the closest

defender is four to six feet away,

according to NBA.com statistics.

“I try to kind of take good shots

as much as possible. Maybe for

some people they would be ques-

9 tries against Houston, took over

the top spot at 55.2 percent (16 for

29).

Having bigs as the team’s most

reliable three-point shooters

probably will not last. Beal

(33.3 percent) was rocky through

three games but found his rhythm

Wednesday, hitting 7 of 12 at-

tempts. Isaiah Thomas (42.9 per-

cent) is not shy from beyond the

arc, and the team soon will wel-

come back CJ Miles, a career

35.9 percent shooter from three,

from a foot injury.

After the offseason additions of

Wagner and Bertans, the Wizards

can have multiple three-point

threats on the floor at all times.

“It’s going to probably change a

little bit,” Coach Scott Brooks said

of who will lead the Wizards sta-

tistically from beyond the arc.

“Our three-point shooting is go-

ing to be a big part of our offense

because our bigs can shoot, but

they also can roll. We, myself and

they, have to find the sweet spot,

how many times they roll and

how many times they pop for

threes, because a lot of [defend-

ers] are playing back on them and

they can get that shot anytime.”

During his newlywed phrase

with the Wizards, Wagner has

made an impact in several areas.

He is the team leader in charges

taken (four), and he has set

screens and rolled to the basket

with a slightly higher frequency

(24.4 percent of the time he’s on

the floor) than starting center

Thomas Bryant. On top of that,

Wagner can shoot threes.

“In college, I would always say,

‘I want to be a big who can shoot

and not a shooter who is big.’ So

that’s kind of my mantra,” said

Wagner, a second-year player out

of Michigan. “I think it’s just a

matter of taking the right shots.

Some I have been working on my

entire life and some that [the

Wizards] put a lot of emphasis

here on.... [It] gives me a lot of

confidence, too, that people trust

me to do that — starting with the

best player, going down.”

WIZARDS FROM D1

Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, to

concussions.

Callahan and offensive coordi-

nator Kevin O’Connell said

Haskins has become more fo-

cused and serious since he made

his debut against the Giants. They

described a player who was realiz-

ing how important his job has

become and said he has spent

considerably more time in the

team’s headquarters and meeting

rooms, studying and asking ques-

tions.

“His focus has been even more

sharp the way he’s preparing,”

said Redskins wide receiver Terry

McLaurin, who was Haskins’s

teammate at Ohio State. “He’s

really been focusing on preparing

like he’s a starter. Now he’s in a

situation where he’s getting all

the reps this week. I’m looking

forward to seeing how his devel-

opment is from just last week to

this week. He’s the ultimate com-

petitor, but whether he throws a

touchdown or has negative plays,

it’s the course of the game, so he

has to be prepared for anything.”

Haskins did not speak to re-

porters Friday. When asked

Wednesday about the way he has

grown as the potential starter, he

said: “I don’t think it had nothing

to do with this week. I just think

it’s a change in me.”

[email protected]

ing weeks.

Anticipating that Haskins

might start this week, Redskins

coaches spent a lot of time focus-

ing on reducing the time it takes

for Haskins to get the ball

snapped. They set the scoreboard

clock to 40 seconds, 35 seconds

and 25 seconds to create frantic

scenarios in which the play had to

be rushed in, Haskins had to de-

liver it to the rest of the offense

and get everyone set and the ball

had to be snapped.

“I think it’s important that he

knows that he’s the starter and

that he goes out there with the

mind-set that he’s the leader of

this offense,” Callahan said. “I

know that he’s going to accept

that responsibility and do as well

as he can.”

Haskins has not had the luxury

of entering an ideal situation, the

way some other young quarter-

backs have. The Redskins are go-

ing through a dysfunctional sea-

son. They are 1-7. They fired coach

Jay Gruden in October and are

battling with star left tackle Trent

Williams, who ended a five-

month holdout this week and

then said team doctors failed to

properly diagnose a cyst that

turned out to be cancerous. There

also have been a number of inju-

ries on offense, including the loss

of the team’s top two tight ends,

scale of 0 to 158.3. His lack of early
success has been a topic of much
discussion; several people with
knowledge of the team said this
past week that he has struggled to
know the playbook.
Haskins, 22, played only one
full season at Ohio State, throw-
ing 50 touchdown passes and only
eight interceptions before being
drafted by the Redskins with the
15th pick in April.
Redskins coaches said Friday
that Haskins had practiced well
during the week, working with
the first-team offense while
Keenum sat out.
“We have seen him progress
through the week, and I think
that’s the big thing, his improve-
ment from day to day, from situa-
tion to situation, from drill to
drill. He’s been nothing but locked
and focused,” Callahan said.
In the two games Haskins has
played — a loss to the New York
Giants on Sept. 29 and the defeat
at the Vikings — he has had trou-
ble getting the plays called and
gathering the players together. A
lot of that, coaches said, is inexpe-
rience because he started only 14
games at Ohio State and didn’t do
much work with the Redskins’
first-team offense in training
camp or during the season’s open-

REDSKINS FROM D1

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stephen Curry will miss at least

three months because of a broken

left hand that required surgery,

the toughest blow yet in an al-

ready difficult season for the

struggling Golden State Warriors

following five straight trips to the

NBA Finals.

Now both Splash Brothers are

on the sideline, leaving Golden

State thin in the backcourt while

facing a 1-3 record and just trying

to stay in games. Klay Thompson

is recovering from surgery July 2

for a torn ACL in his left knee.

Thompson was injured June 13 in

Game 6 of the NBA Finals that

clinched Toronto its first champi-

onship.

Curry underwent surgery Fri-

day on the hand and second meta-

carpal of his index finger, and the

team said he will miss at least

three months but is expected to

make a full recovery.

The Warriors said the surgery

was performed by Steven Shin at

Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Insti-

tute in Los Angeles. An update on

his progress is planned after three

months, which would be early

February. If he makes that time-

line or close to it, Curry would

have about 30 games remaining

in the regular season.

He has indicated he wants to

play for the U.S. team at the 2020

Tokyo Olympics, so Curry prob-

ably would prefer to play games

before that.

Specialists examined a CT scan

Curry had Thursday, a day after

the two-time MVP broke his non-

shooting hand in the third quar-

ter of a 121-110 home loss to the

Phoenix Suns.

Curry was injured while driv-

ing to his left with Kelly Oubre Jr.

defending him and big man Aron

Baynes standing in the paint. Cur-

ry leaped with the ball, then came

down head first, landing awk-

wardly on his hands as he tried to

brace himself. Baynes then land-

ed on Curry’s left hand. The 31-

year-old Curry grimaced in pain,

grabbing at his fingers, then walk-

ing to the locker room.

Celtics claim fourth straight

Jayson Tatum hit a turnaround

jumper with 1.3 seconds remain-

ing, and the Boston Celtics beat

the visiting New York Knicks, 104-

102, for their fourth straight victo-

ry.

Tatum finished with 24 points.

Kemba Walker scored 23 of his

33 points in the second half, and

Gordon Hayward had 13 points

and nine rebounds.

Unlike a 118-95 rout at Madison

Square Garden last Saturday, Bos-

ton was pushed by New York until

the very end of a game that fea-

tured 24 lead changes and 10 ties.


BULLS 112, PISTONS 106:

Zach LaVine scored 26 points,

Otto Porter Jr. added 22, and host

Chicago overcame a big effort by

Derrick Rose against his former

team to beat Detroit.

Rose delighted the hometown

crowd with 23 points and seven

assists. But the Bulls came away

with the win after dropping three

in a row while handing the Pis-

tons their fourth loss in five

games.

LaVine put Chicago ahead for

good with back-to-back three-

pointers and added four free

throws in the final 11.5 seconds.


PACERS 102, CAVALIERS

95: Malcolm Brogdon is putting

up some big numbers for Indiana.

The newcomer filled the box

score again with 25 points, eight

rebounds and six assists to push

the injury-riddled Pacers past

Cleveland for their first win in

Indianapolis this season.

“I love it. This is a basketball

city, a basketball state,” Brogdon

said. “People show me a lot of love.

I’m going to enjoy playing here.”


NETS 123, ROCKETS 116:

Taurean Prince had 27 points and

12 rebounds, and Brooklyn

slowed down James Harden and

visiting Houston.

Two nights after scoring a fran-

chise-record 159 points in a victo-

ry at Washington, the Rockets

couldn’t get nearly enough shots

to drop after opening an early

15-point lead. They went 12 for 48

from three-point range, with

Harden a dismal 2 for 16.

Harden finished with 36 points

and eight assists, but he was 10 for

31 from the field. Russell West-

brook added 27 points.


BUCKS 123, MAGIC 91: It

was a pretty typical performance

for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Donte DiVincenzo was a bit of a

surprise.

Antetokounmpo had 29 points

and 14 rebounds, and Milwaukee

cruised to a victory in Orlando.

NBA ROUNDUP

Curry out three months after surgery

Bigs make impact from deep

Haskins set to make first start

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joe Flacco’s Denver debut last-
ed half a season.
The Broncos placed the veteran
quarterback they acquired from
Baltimore on injured reserve Fri-
day and promoted rookie quarter-
back Brett Rypien from their prac-
tice squad to back up new starter
Brandon Allen.
Coach Vic Fangio said even
though Flacco doesn’t need sur-
gery on the herniated disk in his
neck, he requires six weeks of rest.
“At best it was six weeks where
he could do nothing — when I say
nothing, absolutely nothing — he
would need probably two weeks to
get back and a good chance that it
would be eight of doing nothing
and then another week or two to
get ready,” Fangio said. “You guys
can do the math, so it became an
easy decision.”
Flacco has continued to attend
meetings and tutor Allen and Ryp-
ien, and he could return to watch
practice next week, Fangio said.

EAGLES: DeSean Jackson is
ready to return to action.
The speedy wide receiver, who
suffered an abdominal tear, plans
to play for the first time in two
months when Philadelphia (4-4)
hosts the Chicago Bears (3-4) on
Sunday. Jackson practiced this
week on a limited basis and is
officially listed as questionable.
“Definitely been a long proc-
ess,” Jackson said Friday. “We’ll see
how it goes. It’s just a thing I’m
dealing with right now. Not too
many answers for it. It’s an un-

common injury. I’m trying to do

everything I can to take care of it

and get it right.”


CHIEFS: Kansas City quar-

terback Patrick Mahomes is ques-

tionable against the Minnesota Vi-

kings, raising the possibility the

NFL MVP could return after miss-

ing just one game with a dislocat-

ed kneecap.

Mahomes practiced on a limit-

ed basis throughout the week, just

as he did last week. But rather

than being listed as out, as he was

for the Green Bay Packers, he was

given the official injury designa-

tion that means it is uncertain

whether Mahomes will play.

“He did good this week. He add-

ed quite a little bit to it,” said Chiefs

Coach Andy Reid, who added little

more during the roughly three

minutes he spoke to reporters Fri-

day.


SEAHAWKS: Wide receiver

Josh Gordon joined Seattle a day

after being released off injured

reserve by the New England Patri-

ots.

The Seahawks claimed Gordon

off waivers. He joins a crowded

group in Seattle, which already

was carrying seven wide receivers

on its active roster.

Gordon was among New Eng-

land’s leading receivers this sea-

son, with 20 catches for 287 yards

and a touchdown through six

games. But he was placed on in-

jured reserve last week with knee

and ankle injuries.


TEXANS: Houston quarter-

back Deshaun Watson is wearing a

clear visor on his helmet to protect

his injured left eye.

Watson donned the new look at

practice in London, where the Tex-

ans (5-3) are preparing to play

Jacksonville (4-4) at historic

Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Watson’s eye was “red and still a

little swollen,” he said following

practice at a rugby field. Oakland

defensive end Arden Key kicked

him in the face during the fourth

quarter last Sunday. Watson still

managed to regroup and throw a

go-ahead touchdown pass to Dar-

ren Fells.

The AFC player of the month for

October, Watson said Friday that

wearing a visor wouldn’t bother

him. He wore one during games in

high school and college.


49ERS: San Francisco line-

backer Kwon Alexander will miss

the rest of the season after tearing

his pectoral muscle.

The 49ers announced the diag-

nosis a day after Alexander got

hurt in a victory at Arizona that

improved their record to 8-0.

This is the second straight year

Alexander went down with a sig-

nificant injury.


PANTHERS: Carolina quar-

terback Cam Newton is seeking

another opinion on his injured left

foot.

The team said Newton traveled

Friday to Green Bay, Wis., to visit

with Robert Anderson, a re-

nowned foot specialist who previ-

ously served as an assistant team

physician with the Panthers.

Newton has missed Carolina’s

past five games and has not prac-

ticed since Week 2.

NFL NOTES

Broncos put Flacco on injured reserve

RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST

Interim coach Bill Callahan said of Dwayne Haskins, “He’s been nothing but locked and focused.”

WIZARDS’ NEXT THREE

vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Today 8 p.m. NBCSW

vs. Detroit Pistons

Monday 7 p.m. NBCSW

at Indiana Pacers

Wednesday 7 p.m. NBCSW

Radio: WFED (1500 AM)

DARREN ABATE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Reserve Moritz Wagner is 5 for 10 from three-point range,

providing the Wizards a shooting threat from a frontcourt spot.

BEN MARGOT/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Warriors guard Stephen Curry underwent surgery on his broken

left hand Friday and is expected to miss at least three months.