Beal out again for Wizards Saturday in Milwaukee

With the Washington Wizards on the second night of a back-to-back, the team will take the precaution of resting shooting guard Bradley Beal against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Beal had played in the team's last three games after sitting eight straight due to a stress reaction in his right leg. The 21-year-old also missed the first nine games of the season due to a preseason wrist fracture.

Beal is averaging 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, three assists and 1.3 steals in his third season, while shooting a career-high 42.2 percent from three-point range, good for seventh in the league.

That shooting ability and the benefit of his ball handling in a complementary backcourt role to John Wall pays huge dividends for the Wizards' offense, which scores 105.6 points per 100 possessions with Beal on the court but just 99 per 100 possessions with Beal on the bench.

That would be the difference between a seventh-ranked offense and a 27th-ranked unit.

The Wizards, who also remain without power forward Kris Humphries due to a groin injury, enter Saturday's contest leading the Bucks by 2.5 games for the Eastern Conference's fifth seed.