Bradley Beal thinks he can play Friday

After sitting out the last five games with a sore right wrist, rookie guard Bradley Beal told reporters following today's practice that he expects to play Friday when the Washington Wizards welcome the Brooklyn Nets to Verizon Center.

Beal injured his wrist on a hard fall in a Jan. 18 road win over the Denver Nuggets. He tried to play through the injury, but struggled with his shooting and finally elected to give himself time to heal following a six-point performance in a Jan. 28 loss to the Sacramento Kings. It would appear, as reported by Gene Wang of the Washington Post, that the time off has finally paid off.

"It's a lot better," Beal said of his wrist, which was wrapped in protective tape. "I think I'm going to play tomorrow. I mean it took a while. It took a long time, but it's healing back, and I feel good."

According to Beal, the toughest challenge in returning to the court won't be his wrist, but regaining his conditioning.

"I've been doing a lot of type of running, running I've never even done since high school," Beal said. "I mean it's really hard getting back in shape because not doing anything for three or four days, I mean you lose your wind that quick. These guys are doing a great job of helping me get that back."