#Bradley Beal injury gives Nets stronger chance to make playoffs

The shorthanded Nets may have secured a playoff berth before landing in Orlando, Fla.

The Wizards announced Tuesday that star guard Bradley Beal, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, will not participate in the upcoming restart to the season because of an injury to his right rotator cuff. The Wizards (24-40) are in ninth-place in the Eastern Conference — 5½ games behind the eighth-place Magic — and can only force a play-in series if they are within four games of the No. 8 seed, following the eight-game conclusion of the regular season.

Holding onto the seventh spot in the East, the Nets (30-34) are scheduled to meet the Wizards on Aug. 2.

Washington swept a pair of meetings with Brooklyn in February — decided by an average of five points — as Beal, a two-time All-Star, averaged 32.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.5 blocks.

“This was a difficult decision and one that I did not take lightly as the leader of this team,” Beal said. “I wanted to help my teammates compete for a playoff spot in Orlando, but also understand that this will be best for all of us in the long term.”

Beal, 27, experienced shoulder discomfort early in the season, which worsened during the four-month suspension of play.

This season, Beal became the first player with back-to-back 50-point games since 2007 — and the sixth to accomplish the feat all-time — while joining Michael Jordan. He joins LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Dwyane Wade as the only players in the past 45 years to average at least 30 points, six rebounds and four assists in a season, while shooting at least 45 percent from the field.

“Bradley did everything possible to be ready to play, but after closely monitoring his individual workouts we came to the conclusion that it was best for him to sit out the upcoming games in Orlando and avoid the risk of further injury,” said Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard. “Although he was able to play through the majority of the season with the injury, the layoff from March until now did not leave any of us feeling comfortable that he would have enough time to be ready to perform at the extremely high level we are all accustomed to seeing and agreed that not participating in the games in Orlando was the right decision.”