Wizards Nene Going Easy in Preseason

Nene, above, reinjured his foot in the Olympics. (Photo: Keith Allison)

The Washington Wizards are going to be taking it easy with one of their star players this preseason.

Wizards Center Nene will be be playing it safe this preseason to make sure that he will be ready for the Wizards regualar season opener. Steve Aschburner of NBA.com has more here.

The Brazilian center that was acquired from Denver last season is suffering from plantar faciitis in his foot. The injury effected him towards the end of last season and he reaggrevated while playing for Brazil in the Olympics this past summer.

Nene appeared in 11 games for the Wizards last season and six of those were starts. He averaged over 14 points per game and over seven rebounds per game. Being a big man, you would expect him to foul a lot. Nene did quite the opposite and only averaged 2-3 fouls per game.

When you combine Nene's ability with the Wizards offseason acquisitions of Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor, the Wizards have the potential for a pretty decent front court this coming season. Then you factor in their backcourt of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Jordan Crawford and the Wizards could actually have a pretty decent team.

As for Nene, don't expect to see him much until the regular season begins. He will be a huge part of the Wizards front court and team. The Wizards will be keeping a close eye on his plantar faciitis to make sure that it doesn't cause him to miss any time.

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Source: NBA.com