This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's only preseason, and there are already significant developments around the NBA landscape. In Washington, Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal has suffered a broken left wrist and could miss 6-8 weeks, according to the Washington Post. Beal - last season - established himself as one of the premier young talents in the league, a shooter who can work screens and has the versatility to take defenders off the dribble and finish from mid-range as well. His loss from the lineup is a significant one. If the timeline holds true, he could be back by Thanksgiving at the earliest, December 11th at the eight week threshold. He could miss as many as 21 regular-season games, our a full quarter of the season. In the Eastern Conference, that could cause the Wizards to slide a bit in the long run. So what does Washington do? The Wizards can take Paul Pierce and slide him back to shooting guard, which would clear the way in the starting lineup for 2013 lottery pick Otto Porter. Or, they could keep Pierce at small forward and plug in Glen Rice Jr. Either way, Beal is a dynamic scoring threat who averaged 19 points per game a season ago. That's not going to be easy to replace in that lineup. And that means there will be significant pressure on point guard John Wall to carry a big chunk of the offense. Interestingly, the Utah Jazz travel to Washington to face the Wizards on December 14th. Beal should probably be back on the court by then. ………………………………………………………….The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat faced each other on Saturday afternoon in Brazil, a preseason matchup that garnered regular-season hype. The Cavs came away with a 122-119 overtime win down in Rio De Janeiro, a game where Kevin Love scored 25 points. LeBron James scored seven points and handed out eight assists in 21 minutes. Chris Bosh led the Heat with 19 points and eight rebounds. Tony Jones