Beal breaking out with more responsibility in backcourt
Guard shoulders load, trusts teammates with Wall on sidelines
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal pondered the question for a split second, his eyes looking past the small herd of reporters in front of him and onto the team’s practice court.
The seven-year NBA veteran had been asked about his mental approach to the game when playing without fellow all-star guard John Wall, as was the case Wednesday night against Atlanta, and in the 41 games Wall missed last season because of left knee surgery and rehabilitation.
“I just trust my teammates,” Beal said Friday at the Wizards’ practice facility, bringing his attention back to the group. “I just play the same way I would if John was playing. Granted, I have to be a lot more aggressive and I tell myself I can’t do it by myself, and that’s all it is. It’s the realization that I am not going to win this game by myself and I have to trust my teammates and depend on them to make plays and depend on them to knock down shots and get stops on defense just as well as I do.
Wall did not travel with the team to Atlanta due to personal reasons, and it’s not yet clear when he’ll return. Without Wall, Beal shouldered the offensive load in the Wizards’ 131-117 win over the Hawks. The 25-year-old scored a season-high 36 points, tallied nine assists and collected six rebounds, helping extend Washington’s win streak to three games. The Wizards face the Cavaliers tonight in Cleveland.
Wednesday’s game was the first Wall has missed during the Wizards’ 11-14 start. Without Wall, Wizards coach Scott Brooks tweaked his starting lineup against the Hawks, starting three ballhandling guards in Beal, Austin Rivers and Tomas Satoransky.
“Everyone has to step up when he is out,” Beal said of Wall. “He carries such an offensive load of getting TV: Radio: everybody shots, attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line and creating for everybody.”
Wall did not practice with the team on Friday in Washington and Brooks did not say if Wall would play against the Cavaliers. Brooks said has talked to Wall in the last day or two and said, “everybody was good.” With Wall’s status still uncertain, Beal could once again be looked upon to carry the team’s offensive production. The seventh-year guard is quietly averaging 22.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
“I was due for a game like that I guess,” Beal said of his performance in Atlanta. “That is kind of always our mind-set when sometimes we have off nights or we don’t have big nights; wealways say we are due for one, and I guess that was just that moment. That is definitely a good game to build off of and keep the momentum going.”
Leaning off last season’s experience, Beal said he understands that he has to be a “little bit” more aggressive in Wall’s absence. He stressed the importance of being smart about fouls and more aware of his decision-making on the floor, of playing off the ball and “letting the game come to me and not forcing anything.”
Wizards power forward Markieff Morris said he’s seen that flash from Beal every day, but that the team knew Beal had to be more aggressive on and off the ball without Wall on the court.
“I thought he was going to go for 50, but he cut it short,” Morris said. “[Almost] to 40. Same thing, though.”
With Beal the less overtly flashy of the two guards, his all-around game is sometimes overlooked. Brooks said it was “good for him to bust out and have that type of game,” but he still wants to see improvement from Beal behind the 3-point arc. Beal is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers per game, while attempting an average of 6.9.
“He’s definitely been due for a big game offensively,” Brooks said. “He battles. The thing I love about Brad is that he is an all-around player. He can have a bad shooting night — and we don’t want that — but he can have one and still have an impact on our team with his defense and his overall playmaking ability. I think the last [few] years now he has really improved his playmaking.”
TRADE: The Wizards acquired forward Sam Dekker from the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. As part of the deal, the Wizards sent Jason Smith and cash considerations to the Bucks and a 2022 second round draft pick to the Cavaliers.