Martell Webster made his season debut for the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, scoring three points and grabbing one rebound in 14 minutes of action.
Webster underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back last June. It was his third back surgery in four years.
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Now in his 10th season in the NBA, the 6’7″ small forward was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers out of high school with the No. 6 pick in the 2005 draft. Webster played five years in Portland and two with the Minnesota Timberwolves before coming to Washington.
The 28-year-old has often struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but he put together a pair of very solid back-to-back season with the Wizards in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Webster took the floor in 154 of a possible 164 games during that span, starting 75 of them.
In his time in Washington he’s averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28.3 minutes per game while shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range.
While discussing Webster’s reinstatement to the active roster on Monday, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post wrote:
"His return provides another three-point threat off the bench for a team that already leads the NBA in three-point efficiency at 39 percent, though the Wizards average just 15.6 three-point attempts per game, the third-lowest in the league.But Webster’s return also create a logjam on the wing for the Wizards — a surprising development considering questions lingered after Trevor Ariza’s decision to sign with, coincidentally, the Rockets. Rasual Butler’s emergence and Otto Porter Jr.’s continued development backing up Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce on the wing have been more than sufficient as the Wizards are off to a 21-8 start."
Washington lost badly in Webster’s first game on the floor, falling to the Dallas Mavericks 114-87 and dropping its season record to 22-9. Webster did not shoot the ball well, going 0-for-4 from the field and 3-for-5 at the free-throw line.
He scored all of his points after being fouled while shooting a three-pointer (something he’s shown a great proclivity for over the course of his career).
That didn't take long, @MartellWebster fouled on a 3-pointer, 5 minutes into his season debut #WizMavs
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) December 31, 2014
Webster was clearly rusty, and could take some time to work his way back into game shape. He could probably use a little more time to familiarize himself with the Wizards’ offense as well, as evidenced by this awkward exchange with teammate Kevin Seraphin in the fourth quarter:
As Castillo mentioned, Webster’s return may not be coming at an ideal time for Washington. With the exception of the blowout loss in Dallas, the Wizards are playing great basketball at the moment. Changing up rotations and minute distribution could have adverse effects.
Had Webster been healthy all along, the 35-year-old Butler likely never would have made the team. But now that he did, the journeyman veteran is putting together the best season of his career.
Butler is shooting 49.5 percent from three-point range and has proven to be instrumental off the bench. However, his minutes are almost assured to dwindle with Webster back in action.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Webster’s first game on the court was also one of Butler’s worst of the season–he scored just three points while shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-3 from downtown.
A healthy Webster should make the Wizards better in the long run, but for the time being it might mess with the good thing they’ve got going.