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Randy Wittman will consider using Nene off the bench permanently

At least so long as the Wizards continue playing well.

By Mike Prada
Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

As we've discussed several times, the Wizards' use of Nene off the bench as he recovers from an Achilles injury has often been a good thing, since it's provided much-needed punch to the second unit. There have been pushes to make it a permanent thing, since it simultaneously lessens the load on Nene's body and improves one of the Wizards' major weaknesses.

For now, it appears that will continue. Here's Randy Wittman giving the arrangement tepid approval the other day, via Michael Lee of the Washington Post:

But Wittman said he is open to keeping Nene as the Wizards' version of San Antonio swingman Manu Ginobili - a sixth man who sticks around for the close: "Hey, listen, if we're playing good, a certain way, we're going to continue that."

I'm not sure that's exactly the endorsement that many would like, to be honest. Patience is required when making a change like this, and I'm not sure Wittman will have much patience if the Wizards lose a game or two along the way. He's a traditional coach in the sense that his starters are his starters and his second unit is his second unit, and he's suggested that he can't wait for Nene and Bradley Beal to be off minutes limits because it'll make managing the rotation easier.

But it's better than nothing. Sometimes, a coach can stumble into a good situation by happenstance, even if he wasn't going to make that kind of change if all was well. Perhaps this is one of those situations.

Would you keep playing Nene off the bench? Let us know.

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