Gortat checked for staph infection as Wizards reel from injuries

The Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls on Monday, but they may have also captured Chicago's mantle from the past few seasons of "NBA team most cursed by injury."

With Bradley Beal still sidelined and John Wall scheduled to undergo an MRI on his left knee, now comes word starting center Marcin Gortat may have a staph infection.

"We got to get him to the hospital when we land and give him some IVs and try to get the fluids running through him," Wizards coach Randy Wittman told reporters Monday after the win in Chicago. "I don't know if it's a staph infection. He had a small cut on his knee from diving on the floor and something got in there. It swelled up and he had a high temperature last night so we know it’s an infection of some type."

Gortat tweeted his displeasure from the hospital Tuesday morning:

The Polish big man missed Monday's contest with knee swelling, something that apparently didn't manifest itself until the morning of the game. A day earlier, the only scrape Gortat suffered that warranted attention was a cut to his ear against the Orlando Magic.

Picked by many to take another step forward from last season's 46-36 record, the Wizards sit two games under .500 and out of the playoff picture going into Tuesday. A major part of that problem is the 148 man games they've lost to injury as of Friday - a number that leads the NBA, according to ManGamesLost.com.

Only Wall and his backup at the point, Ramon Sessions, have played in every game. Starters and rotation members that have missed multiple games include Beal, Nene, Otto Porter, Kris Humphries, Gary Neal, and Drew Gooden. Veteran shooting guard Alan Anderson has yet to play this season with an ankle injury.