Nene Hilario: Will come off the bench to begin season

Hilario is preparing to come off the bench as the center for the Wizards' second unit this season, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.

Analysis:

Wizards coach Randy Wittman hasn't confirmed as much, but given Hilario's usage during the preseason, it appears safe to conclude that the 13-year veteran will regularly come off the bench for the first time in his career. Wittman did deploy Hilario in a reserve role on a few occasions in 2014-15, much to the big man's chagrin. For his part, Hilario seems to be taking well to the new gig over the first three preseason games, as he's shot 13-for-22 (59 percent) from the field while not turning the ball over once in 45 minutes of action. With Hilario out of the starting picture, Kris Humphries appears poised to start at power forward, as the Wizards roll out a "pace-and-space" lineup that deploys four players with three-point range.