The Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal has impressed early on in the 2017-18 season. His next challenge is finding a balance between aggression and pure shooting.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has looked very impressive through the first four games of the 2017-18 season.
When the Wizards drafted Beal it was clear he was acquired to form a dynamic backcourt with John Wall. Five years into the duo’s pairing it’s safe to say it has worked.
However, in the first few years of the pairing, Beal was the shooter and Wall was in charge of attacking the paint. That has changed considerably in recent years.
Beal’s more aggresive
Beal has picked up right where he left off in the 2017 playoffs, and is playing with a controlled aggression. Something Wizards fans have been patiently waiting to see.
He is starting to realize that the offense has to run through him in crunch time. Beal looks much more comfortable handling the ball and taking a defender off the dribble.
Most importantly, he is attacking the paint. Long gone are the days of Beal settling only for long twos. This season he’s averaging 24.5 points per game, and shooting 45.3 percent from the field.
The shooting guard is no longer afraid to throw his body around and get to the free throw line. He’s averaging 8 free throw attempts a game, nearly doubling his 4.4 attempts last season.
Beal’s aggressiveness opens up opportunities for the Wizards to spread the floor in a half court offense. Teams have to start respecting Beal’s attack off the dribble. It’s something that needs to continue if the Wizards really want to be a contender in the East.
Balanced shot selection
With all the good we’ve seen from Beal this season, there are a few things which needs a little fine tuning. Specifically, his outside shooting.
Beal came into the league as a sharpshooter, and he has to maintain that consistency. Through the Wizards’ first four games it has not.
He’s averaging 4.8 attempts a game from 3-point range. This is nearly a three shot drop from his 7.2 attempts last year.
And he’s not making the shots he is taking, shooting an abysmal 26.3 percent from downtown.
That is not bad for a stretch four working on his perimeter jump shot. But this is supposed to be Beal’s bread and butter.
Wall has given Beal a ton of great looks. Beal instead is either driving the lane or taking a long two. Although, he’s not settling for long twos like he once did, he still takes more than absolutely necessary.
Of course in theory, the closer you are to the bucket, the better the chance of making it. But if it comes down to a three or a long two, the three is probably the better option.
Beal now faces a new transition he has to make to his game – maintain aggressiveness when it comes to attacking the paint, while shooting more threes.
He’s still the guy who needs to shoot late in games. Wall has proven he’s clutch and Otto Porter is getting better every year. However, I still want Beal taking the last shot nine times out of ten.
An All-Star selection seems to be in Beal’s reach this year. Once he can maintain a balance between attacking the paint and hitting perimeter shots, he’ll be more than an All-Star. He’ll place his name in the conversation as one of the best shooting guards in the league.