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During Friday鈥檚 game against the New York Knicks, it was almost more noteworthy to look at who was in street clothes on the Wizards bench than who was playing in the actual game.
In their second-to-last game of the regular season, the Wizards were still absent Bradley Beal, but shut down Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for the remainder of the season.
In a 114-92 loss, the Wizards showcased their youth with some experimentation in both their roster and rotations.
鈥淲e talked at length over the last 20-plus games with this group,鈥� coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 practice a lot this time of year, and for guys to look past these moments and consider them meaningless is unwise. It鈥檚 a great opportunity to get out there in real time and play a good, competitive game when it matters. Whether you win or lose, you鈥檙e still creating good habits. Bottom line, that鈥檚 been what we鈥檝e tried to do all year.鈥�
All 13 Wizards players that were dressed played at least seven minutes, a lineup that included Vernon Carey Jr., Isaiah Todd, Jordan Schakel and Cassius Winston. Those four combined for 14 points on the night.
The Wizards tied their mark with a season-worst 22 turnovers, but a lot of that could be chalked up to new rotations and unfamiliar lineup combinations.
鈥淚 hope to see, at least, us trying to get to our spots and run offense correctly,鈥� Unseld said, when asked about reviewing the film. 鈥淒idn鈥檛 feel like it, but once again I鈥檓 not going to blame guys for not feeling comfortable playing different positions, having two traditional bigs out there in Gaff and Vern obviously late. I鈥檓 not overly concerned with that.鈥�
The lineup wasn鈥檛 exclusively reserved to youth, though, as Raul Neto played 20:18 and scored 14 points. It was the most he鈥檚 played since March 24.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard, but you鈥檝e just got to try to stay locked in and just play basketball,鈥� Neto said. 鈥淏oth teams are in the same situation, not playing everybody, I haven鈥檛 played for a while. I think even when I was playing, I didn鈥檛 use to play strict minutes like I did today. So I was pretty tired. But you鈥檝e just got to try to find energy, just trying to have fun. That鈥檚 the most important thing.鈥�
The Wizards will, in essence, be forced to stick to their newer-looking lineup on Sunday in the season finale against the Hornets. With nearly an entire starting lineup of regular starters out, the Wizards will have some newer faces finish out the stretch.
鈥淚f you start thinking about the summer, that鈥檚 when you鈥檙e kind of wasting your time on the court,鈥� Neto said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard league, you never know how many games you鈥檙e going to be able to play. For me, it was just trying to enjoy and have fun playing.鈥�
