Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal Has No More Excuses

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has no more excuses. With injuries behind him and a new coach in D.C., it’s time for him to finally break out

“This is the year Bradley Beal will finally have his breakout season with the Washington Wizards.”

Fans have been waiting for Beal to have a breakout season since he was drafted third overall in 2012. Every year, though, something happens that delays the breakthrough.

Injuries, specifically stress reactions in his legs, have caused Beal to miss a lot of time in Washington.

After the Wizards finally implemented an up-tempo system focused on better spacing on the court this past season, Beal was supposed to flourish. The 23-year-old missed more games last year than he did in the prior three.

Beal averaged over 25 points in October last season and looked like he would finally reach that All-Star level that everyone knows he’s capable of reaching.

He was unfortunately sidelined again and put on a minutes restriction. During the second half of the season, Beal averaged less than 16 points.

Washington is confident that Beal can play at the level he performed at the beginning of the season throughout the course of an entire year. They gave him a five-year max contract extension, noting how well he played during the NBA Playoffs and his upside as a player.

Beal now has everything that franchise players look for. He’s the highest paid player on the team and the organization is committed to making him one of the faces of the franchise.

The injury woes are behind him, or at least the Washington Wizards hope they are.

While there’s no direct evidence that it’s led to injury, Beal has continued to physically develop and grow during his time in Washington.

According to the Wizards’ owner, Ted Leonsis, Beal grew an inch over the summer.

During his press conference which took place on Tuesday, Beal said he’s never felt better and has put more emphasis on staying healthy by focusing on his body.

The injuries have only been a part of the problem.

Beal’s tendency to shoot long two point shots and inability to create off the dribble have limited his offensive production. He hasn’t perfected shooting off spot-up situations either.

People have lauded Beal for his jump shot, but he’s only shown flashes of brilliance. Elite jump shooters are consistent and they’re certainly reliable from the charity stripe. Beal made just 76.7 percent of his free throws last season.

But, again, the issues Beal has dealt with on the court are correctable, especially if new head coach Scott Brooks figures out how to utilize him correctly.

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Randy Wittman never truly learned how to get the most out of Beal.

At times, Washington would treat Beal like their number one option, forcing him to create for himself off the dribble.

Wittman would stunt Beal’s minutes, allowing him to share time with the second unit as the primary ball handler, and the results weren’t great.

Beal needs consistency and wanting him to both shoot off the catch and score in isolation situations is impossible at his age.

He doesn’t have the ball handling capability to break defenders down and score. That’s not a knock on Beal, because most players at his age aren’t capable of doing that. The positive thing is, Beal’s flaws as a player can be masked.

Klay Thompson, for instance, didn’t have his best season until the Golden State Warriors fired Mark Jackson and replaced him with a more forward-thinking coach in Steve Kerr.

Thompson, like Beal, is limited as a ball handler, but has found ways to score without a lot of space and by conserving his dribbling.

It’s rare to see Thompson kill 10+ seconds off the shot clock by pounding the ball and desperately looking for a shot. Beal was asked to do a lot of that under Wittman, but that should change with Brooks leading the charge.

The Washington Wizards are hopeful that Wall and Beal can share franchise-leading duties. They’re both being paid like superstars and the excuses that we used in the past are no longer relevant.

If what Beal says is true, he should be in the best shape of his life and the injury concerns are in the past.

The coach who didn’t know how to properly develop his players nor use Beal’s skill-set correctly is gone. Brooks should, in theory, become a major upgrade. Beal will be put in a position to score and become the two-way player he’s capable of being under his guidance.

Next: Beal and Otto's Excellent Adventures

Washington has given Beal everything he needs to succeed. Now it’s on him to make the most of it.