Washington Wizards: John Wall, Bradley Beal Are Not A Championship Duo

By Osman Baig | Apr 6, 2016

Dec 5, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) celebrates with Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 119-89. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Washington Wizards’ Backcourt Isn’t Championship Duo

With the House of Guards, Big 3, and even before that – way before that – the Fab 2, the Washington Wizards/Bullets have long tried to sell a catch phrase nucleus that they hoped would carry them out of the basketball abyss that has defined this franchise for over 30 years.

The Gilbert Arenas era Big 3 never amounted to more than a second round sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat. The Fab 2 starring Chris Webber and Juwan Howard fizzled quickly after a 1^st round sweep at the hands of Michael Jordan.

The latest would be catalyst for a professional basketball renaissance in the nation’s capital is following the path of its predecessors and quickly fading.

The Washington Wizards’ back-court is not amongst the best back-courts in the NBA, and frankly, that notion and discussion is tired. John Wall and Bradley Beal as a duo have not even won 50 games together. Assuming they could bring a championship back to Washington D.C. would be quite naive.

This realization of what the Wizards are and are not isn’t a bad thing. It should be embraced as a moment of reflection that allows them to truly evaluate who they are and how far they still are from their ultimate goal.

John Wall and Bradley Beal are quality NBA players.

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Wall is a three-time All-Star and is on the verge of potentially posting a 20 point, 10 assist, and five rebound per game season.

It’s a rare feat and indicative of the pressure he can apply on the opposition.

When Wall is on his game, he can absolutely be a top-3 point guard in the NBA on a given night, week, or even for a month.

What he can’t do is sustain that high level of play with the necessary efficiency over 82 games.

We all see it – those 5-17 shooting nights that result in 12 points with 5+ turnovers.

Those are terrible games, riddled with wasted possessions and frankly are what remove Wall from this discussion of the best point guards in the NBA.

Bradley Beal is an enigma.

We’re five games away from the completion of his fourth NBA season and we have little clue as to how good he can become or if injuries will every allow him to reach his potential.

His postseasons have been spectacular for a player his age, but his regular seasons have been very underwhelming and have shown little growth. That’s before you take into account the injuries which are paramount in any discussion of Bradley Beal’s future.

If you look at Basketaball-Reference.com, don’t scroll down to the similarity scores unless you’re a fan of horror movies or like being nauseous because the names Marquis Daniels, Darren Collision, and Marcus Thornton should keep you up at night when you consider Beal’s impending potential max or near max contract.

These two players combined even at their best cannot carry a franchise.

The Washington Wizards’ success in the past two postseasons were aided by but not attributed solely to the back-court.

In the 2014 NBA playoffs, Nene, Trevor Ariza, and Marcin Gortat each averaged over 13 points and had an impact in the postseason.

Against the Chicago Bulls and reigning defensive player of the Year Joakim Noah, Nene averaged roughly 18, Trevor Ariza consistently made big shots throughout the playoffs, and Marcin Gortat had some very good moments, including a 31 point, 16 rebound game versus the Indiana Pacers.

In the 2015 postseason Paul Pierce stole the show.

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Before the playoffs even started, The Truth took much of the spotlight (and pressure) off of the young backcourt, inviting the ire of the Toronto Raptors and their fanbase on him.

Then when the playoffs began, Pierce was in vintage form, almost single handedly carrying the team down the stretch in clutch situations.

He bailed out the back-court at times when the game was too big for them and allowed them to thrive by keeping them below the radar.

The hope was the experience under Pierce and Ariza/Al Harrington before him had prepped this duo to take the next step. They didn’t replace Pierce with someone who could bail them out or close games out; they replaced him with several veterans in the hope of filling a stretch-4 role.

They also moved Otto Porter – probably the polar opposite of Pierce in terms of assertiveness and moxie into the starting lineup. The closer role, however, was supposed to be filled by the maturation of the back-court.

That hasn’t materialized and neither has the leadership that many hoped the back-court would grow into. Instead, the last few weeks of the season have been riddled with the type of bickering, in-fighting, and finger pointing that typically defines disappointing teams.

The Washington Wizards’ offense is currently based on Wall creating offense for complimentary shooters and screen and roll personnel. Wall is number one in the NBA in touches per game. The Wizards have little in terms of players outside of Wall who can create their own shot and/or create quality looks for their teammates.

None of what I’ve written above is meant as an indictment on him more than its an indictment on what the Wizards’ expect him to be. Let me be abundantly clear here: A ROSTER THAT IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON JOHN WALL TO CREATE OFFENSE IS NOT A CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER.

It didn’t work for LeBron James in Cleveland, so why would it work here? With that perhaps in mind, the Wizards and/or Bradley Beal have tried to change the game of a player whom many compared to Ray Allen coming out of the University of Florida to a player capable of creating off the dribble.

The results have been mixed at best as Beal has never had a PER above 15.4 throughout his four year career. If you look at Beal now, it seems he’s at an early crossroad in this career and it’s tough to see which way he’ll go.

So, that takes us back to the where we started: the Washington back-court cannot be the focal point of a championship team. They can absolutely be a part of a championship core, but if this duo is in the driver’s seat with everyone else taking a back seat, it is not going to work and it’s getting tired to watch.

The sooner the Washington Wizards realize this, the better, and if that’s all the Wizards take away from this season, it will be a disappointment but a necessary realization.

Next: Replacing the Wizards - Both On and Off the Floor

If the Wizards try to sell this back-court going on a 5^th season as a catalyst for greater things going into next season, they’ll be once again cheating the fans and themselves. It’s time to stop selling hope behind a Fab 2 or a Big 3 or a House of Guards; it’s time to start selling a team. Only then will the Washington Wizards actually have a chance to win something meaningful, versus a tired unofficial title of best young back-court in the NBA.

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