Bradley Beal avoids significant hamstring injury but his status is now uncertain

There’s good news and bad news for the Washington Wizards when it comes to shooting guard Bradley Beal and his injured hamstring.

The Washington Wizards can let go of the breath they’ve been holding since Bradley Beal had to exit Saturday’s game against the Indiana Pacers with a hamstring injury.

Beal’s MRI came back with good results.

The scan ruled out “significant injury,” according to Sham Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. However, he won’t be able to play on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks and it’s not clear if he will be available to play in the final three games of the regular season.

With the playoffs fast approaching, concern will linger over Beal’s availability.

The Wizards need Bradley Beal healthy for the home stretch and playoffs

Despite Beal coming out of the game during overtime, the Wizards beat the Pacers on Saturday while riding Russell Westbrook’s record-tying triple-double. Beal had 50 points before his exit.

It’s hard to imagine the Wizards having much of a chance in the postseason without Beal. He’s averaging 31.4 points per game while taking the fight to Stephen Curry over the NBA scoring title. He’s also averaging 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals a night.

Washington currently owns one of the play-in tournament berths as the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference. While they could drop to 10th with the Pacers (0.5 GB) on their heels, they probably have enough cushion ahead of the Chicago Bulls (3.5 GB) to avoid falling out completely without Beal in the lineup.

However, as the ninth- or 10th-place team, the Wizards will need to win two games to make it to a proper playoff series. As it stands, they would have to beat the Pacers, then the winner of the game between the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets for a legitimate playoff berth. Beal will need to be on the court to give them a chance to advance.