Washington Wizards Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Comparison

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CLEVELAND, OH – MARCH 25: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards shoots while under pressure from LeBron James #23 and JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on March 25, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Wizards defeated the Cavaliers 127-115. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

SHOOTING GUARD

Bradley Beal vs. J.R Smith

The Cavaliers have three shooting guards that have all seen time in the starting lineup; J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, and Iman Shumpert. Bradley Beal is significantly better than all of them.

When healthy, Smith is usually the starting 2. He’s not asked to do much besides shoot threes, which is probably a good thing. When he’s hot, he’s one of the best shooters in the league. But he’s streaky, and when he’s off, he brings little else to the floor.

Beal is just an overall better basketball player than Smith, and it’s not remotely close. He’s better at essentially every facet on offense; finishing, ball-handling, playmaking, and shooting. Beal still has room to grow, too. Smith is on the back-end of his career, and the deficiencies in his game will only worsen.

The only advantage Smith may have is on defense, and the gap there is minimal. There’s no valid comparison between 23.1 PPG and 8.6 PPG.

ADVANTAGE: Bradley Beal

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