A tumultuous weekend for the Washington Wizards took an unexpected turn for the worse on Sunday when All-Star Caron Butler fractured his right hand in a 121-107 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Bulter was trying to contest a dunk by Ruben Patterson and hit his hand on the backboard. His availability for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs is very much in doubt at this point.

“Caron is going to be out for a long time,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “Everybody in the league has had some devastating injuries. We’ve got a capable bench. We don’t have a Caron Butler All-Star, but if we can collectively do things at a high level, we should win our share of games and go onto the playoffs.”

With Andray Blatche also sidelined, Jarvis Hayes looks to be in line for Butler’s minutes. Michael Ruffin, he of the ill-advised late game heave-ho that allowed the Toronto Raptors to steal a win of Friday, could also see his playing time increase. Jordon, unhappy with Brendan Haywood’s recent play gave Etan Thomas his 21st start of the season. Haywood did not play on Sunday.

With 10 games left in the regular season, the Wizards have all but clinched a playoff spot. Their seed and first round opponent, however, is still up in the air. Not having Butler in the lineup every night is going to be a serious blow to their post-season chances. The team is just 2-7 without him this season. “That’s a blow,” Gilbert Arenas told the AP. “You never want an injury as you’re getting ready for the playoffs. To see him go down with an injury like that is hurtful.”

Photo by Kyle Gustafson.