Inside The Wizards

Wizards Miss Jordan Poole in Loss

Jordan Poole was sidelined as the Washington Wizards lost to the Indiana Pacers.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 22, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) drives to the basket as Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) defend in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Nov 22, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) drives to the basket as Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) defend in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The shorthanded Washington Wizards couldn't get out of their rut as they lost 115-103 to the Indiana Pacers to extend their losing streak to 11 games.

The Wizards were already the underdog going into the game, but matters were made worse when point guard and leading scorer Jordan Poole was ruled out with a hip flexor prior to the start of the contest.

With Poole out, the Wizards had to adjust, putting rookie Kyshawn George into the starting lineup and giving Malcolm Brogdon more of a creation role. Wizards coach Brian Keefe explained how the team was forced to adjust with Poole out.

“Our team's growing in terms of that type of stuff,” Keefe said postgame. “We’re still learning and growing. We have multiple guys who can make plays and multiple guys who are ball handlers so we want to play a system that allows guys to make decisions, make reads. I thought for the most part we did that. We just had that little bit of a stretch there in the third with the turnovers.”

Injuries are part of the game in the NBA and people will be shuttling in and out of the lineup each and every night. This means that the Wizards have to play the same game as the other 29 teams and figure out how to adjust on the fly.

This is something that younger teams usually struggle with a little more than experienced teams, especially the Wizards, who have been working on incorporating veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon into the mix.

The Wizards hope Poole can recover quickly as the team faces another opportunity to break their losing streak tomorrow against the Chicago Bulls at home in the latest Emirates NBA Cup game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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