Wizards Notes: Sarr, Carrington, Whitmore, Zone

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe provided an update on Alex Sarr‘s recovery from the adductor injury that has kept him sidelined for the last six games.

According to Varun Shankar of Post Sports, Keefe said that Sarr has not progressed to doing on-court work during practice (Twitter link). Shankar also notes (via Twitter) that while Keefe had previously said it was considered a minor injury, these kinds of soft-tissue injuries can be hard to pin down, and that the Wizards are being cautious with his recovery. He adds that the French big man is moving towards his return.

Sarr has been one of the bright spots for the 4-20 Wizards this season, showing major growth in nearly every statistical category and leading the team in points (19.1), rebounds (8.6), and blocks (2.0), while ranking third in steals (0.8) and fifth in assists (3.3).

We have more notes from the Wizards:

• Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praised guard Bub Carrington after the Wizards beat Indiana 108-89 on Sunday, according to Shankar (Twitter link). “He’s a terrific young player. He’s had a lot of good games against us,” Carlisle said. “He’s skilled, he’s big, he’s versatile, he can play different positions. I think he’s a good defender, his shooting is the real deal.” When Shankar proposed Derrick White as a potential high-end comparison for Carrington as two guards who don’t get to the rim much but shoot and defend well, Carlisle responded that he agreed with the assessment (Twitter link). Carrington has struggled to find his role this season after starting 57 games for Washington last year, but he has played well in his last three games, all starts, averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 assists.
• Cam Whitmore has missed the last three games due to coach’s decision. Keefe initially said the reason for his sitting was for failing to meet team standards, though he later walked that back and said that it was more a matter of giving other players a chance. Keefe echoed that sentiment when asked once again about it following the team’s 126-130 loss to the Cavaliers. “[Cam is] gonna be back in here in the mix at some point, it always works out this way,” he said, per Shankar (via Twitter). We’re seeing different guys — Will Riley, Jamir [Watkins] — those guys stepped up and have been playing well. Just looking at those combinations, nothing more than that.” Riley scored 12 points in 22.5 minutes in Sunday’s victory over the Pacers.
• Keefe has been experimenting with utilizing a zone in an effort to boost the team’s 30th-ranked defense. “We did that a little bit the last game. Been working on it in practice last week,” Keefe said, as relayed by Shankar (via Twitter). “Wanted to mix up our coverages, some different things to see how they would handle it. Thought our guys did a good job and it helped change the rhythm of the game for us.” Washington gave up 89 points to the Pacers, their first time keeping a team below 107 points and only the fourth time keeping a team below 115 points.