The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beal welcomes pressure of being solo star
Guard stepping up with injured Wall done for season.
Bradley Beal has made it clear: Clutch time is his. Though he may spend the majority of games finding open teammates when defenses turn aggressive and orchestrating pick-androlls, the bundle of energy the Washington Wizards call their center, Beal will be the one taking over when it matters.
When the Hawks tied the score with 6:44 remaining recently at Capital One Arena, Beal’s first instinct wasn’t to pass the ball 30 feet from the basket or wait for Thomas Bryant to set a high screen. Beal dribbled into DeAndre’ Bembry, whose fluttering feet couldn’t keep up, before attacking Alex Len, the 7-foot-1 blockade at the rim. Beal didn’t give up the ball, and for the next several possessions, with the outcome still in doubt, the game was in his capable hands.
The Wizards may encourage shot distribution and ball movement as the response to John Wall’s absence due to season-ending surgery. And even though there’s truth in the notion it will take a village to chase a playoff seed without its franchise point guard, Washington still needs a star willing to seize the spotlight.
Beal is welcoming the added pressure.
“I feel like I have more of a responsibility,” said Beal. He will have even more responsibility going forward, as Markieff Morris will miss a significant part of the season. Morris has been diagnosed with transient cervical neurapraxia, an injury located in the cervical spinal cord, and will “be limited to noncontact basketball activities for the next six weeks,” the team announced.
“I definitely have an opportunity to be able to show that I can carry the team,” Beal continued. “Or at least sustain where we are and if not do better, get us to the playoffs. That’s definitely my biggest and main goal because everybody roots us out,” Beal said. “With John being out, that’s just even more motivation for me: ‘OK, can I lead this team to the playoffs?’ ”
Those are forceful words, but confidence seems to be oozing out of Beal these days.
Before his first All-Star appearance last season, Beal, who carries the nickname “Panda,” passively dipped his toes into the waters of self-promotion to get fan votes. He allowed someone from his marketing team to create and tweet a “corny” (his words) video, with talking pandas hyping him to generate support. But this year, when the Wizards’ team Twitter account employed the same panda strategy on Beal’s behalf, he promptly retweeted Tuesday’s message with laughing emoji and the directive to “Go Vote!”
Seems subtle, but the assertiveness illustrates a player who wants something and, this time, won’t be timid about his demands.
“I would love to be a two-time All-Star. I feel like I deserve it,” Beal said. “Granted, we definitely have to win more games. It’s definitely a goal of mine. It’s definitely something I want to be part of. I’ll probably be more active in pushing myself and promoting myself.”
Most likely, Beal will need Eastern Conference coaches to select him as a reserve. And since Wall has been sidelined, their respect for Beal has been evident.
The first time Beal took an inbounds pass in the Jan. 2 against Atlanta, forward Daniel Hamilton picked him up 90 feet away from the basket. The Hawks’ scouting report seemingly focused on getting the ball out of Beal’s hands, because early on, center Dewayne Dedmon remained glued to the perimeter after Bryant set screens. Beal passed out of these double-team looks, and the plays resulted in four free throws for Bryant. Later in the quarter, the Beal-Bryant pick-and-roll created one of several easy runs at the rim for Bryant, who finished with 16 points (5 of 7 overall) and 15 rebounds.
After the game, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce broke down the real catalyst to Bryant’s big night.
“You pay so much attention to the other guy on the pick-and-roll, and Bradley is such an important factor on their offense, and (Bryant’s] the beneficiary of what they’re doing,” Pierce said. “You draw two to Bradley, [Bryant is) the guy that’s going to be rolling to the basket and getting some opportunities. I know he had a big game the other night where he went perfect from the field. It’s the same story. That’s what happens when you have a great player, I think, like Bradley Beal. You draw so much attention that other guys benefit from that.”
When the Hawks pulled even at 94 in the fourth quarter, Beal grabbed all the attention.
“It’s not anything like: ‘Can we do it without John?’ ” Beal said. “It’s trying to prove the world wrong. OK, maybe I can be able to lead and do it without him and get this team to the playoffs.”