Hornets' PJ Washington considered questionable after suffering shoulder injury
Bad news continues to come for the Charlotte Hornets. 25-year-old forward PJ Washington exited Wednesday’s 115-104 loss to the Miami Heat with a shoulder injury and did not return. Washington was only in the game for four minutes before the injury forced him to leave the contest.
Charlotte is already a team trending in a bad direction. and continuing to lose some of their better players will only make their desperate attempts to not be irreverent even more difficult. The Hornets are already without star point guard LaMelo Ball and ascending second-year big man Mark Williams. Subtracting another player from the equation will only make winning games significantly more difficult for Charlotte.
Washington is not a star player by any means. However, he is able to provide a certain level of production that the Hornets need. Averaging 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, Washington has been a solid contributor in his 29.8 minutes per game this season. This has become significantly more important considering the injuries the Hornets have endured this season and has helped Charlotte avoid bottoming out completely.
Washington is currently considered questionable, but should he miss an extended period, it would be less-than-ideal for the Hornets. Charlotte needs all the help they can get as they look to establish a talent floor for their roster beyond this season. The fourth-year forward was identified as part of the Hornets’ future this past offseason after his excursion into restricted free agency did not result in the long-term high-dollar deal he was seeking. While the return to Charlotte was best for all parties involved, the fact it took so long for a deal to come to fruition seemed to indicate a relative sense of hesitation on the Hornets' part, as they did seem to be rushing to sign him to a deal.
The Hornets are a better team when Washington is on the court, and it will be another blow in what has already been a trying season despite barely being a quarter of the way through. There is not much time left to avoid this season becoming the complete disaster they appear to be headed toward. If Washington is able to return sooner rather than later, it should be able to help them construct some level of consistency on the floor and solidify their roster for this season and the years remaining on his contract.