NBA Washington Wizards

Glen Rice Jr. May Play Important Role For Wizards In Bradley Beal’s Absence

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By @TheSizzle20

Glen Rice Jr.

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The hope for the Washington Wizards heading into the 2014-15 NBA season was chipped away a bit by the news in the preseason that star guard Bradley Beal would miss a substantial amount of time to start the year with a broken wrist. Obviously that placed a great deal of pressure on John Wall to start the year, but he’s answered the call thus far.

Wall put up a double-double in Wednesday night’s season opener, finishing the night with 16 points, 12 assists, three boards, and two steals—albeit in a losing effort. Getting their first win of the season on Thursday night against the Orlando Magic, though, Wall notched another double-double with 30 points, 12 assists and five rebounds.

However, something that went overlooked in the Wizards’ first victory of the 2014-15 campaign was the fact that second-year guard Glen Rice Jr. got his first run of the season off of the bench. It was only 14 minutes, but he showed that he could have some value for the Wizards while Beal is still sidelined.

Rice put up five points on 1-2 shooting from three and while getting to the foul line three times. He committed four fouls and two turnovers in that time, too, but it’s what he provides offensively that could be huge for the Wizards.

It’s no secret that the biggest flaw in Wall’s game still is the fact that he doesn’t have a completely reliable jumper from long-range. With Beal out and with Martell Webster also out with injury, leaving only Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple (to whatever degree one can trust Temple) as the outside-shooters for the Wizards right now. That’s where Rice comes in.

For all of the flaws that Rice still has as a young player in the NBA, he’s a guy who has the talent to get the ball through the net from all over the floor and who can do so from the perimeter with solid efficiency. As the season gets further underway, that may be enough to earn Rice an important role in the Washington rotation.

It’s probably too early in Rice’s career to expect a full-on emergence at this point, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t do some positive things for the Wizards in a time where they’re going to need them to stay where they want to be in an improved Eastern Conference. If he keeps providing offense for this team off of the bench, seeing him play a larger role wouldn’t come as a shock as the Wizards move forward without Beal.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.

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