Washington Wizards Player Preview: Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal has delivered a successful career thus far, but this could possibly be his most crucial year yet. So, what can we expect from him entering his 7th NBA season?

Career Stats:  18.7 PTS, 3.7 TRB, 3.4 AST | 44.6 FG%, 39.3 FG3%, 79.4 FT%

2017-18 Stats: 22.6 PTS, 4.4 TRB, 4.5 AST | 46 FG%, 37.5 FG3%, 79.1 FT%

As the numbers indicate, Bradley Beal has been a great player for the Washington Wizards for the past 6 seasons. Outside of John Wall, Beal has been the superstar for the Wizards. He’s been largely overlooked for his entire career, but the league finally realized his talent as he was selected to his first All-Star Game this past season.

Beal has always been an athletically gifted shooter since his days at University of Florida. The Wizards knew that they were drafting the next big shooter, but they received so much more. He’s really progressed as a scorer throughout his NBA  tenure to the point where the Wizards will go to him in most of their clutch situations.

Furthermore, Beal took his game to the next level this past  season. John Wall was absent for most of the season due to injury and Beal carried the load. During this time, there was a lot of buzz going around that the ball was being distributed more frequently and it was more team oriented offense. This may have caused some drama to arise, but it produced a confidence in Beal that was needed.

As we see from the stats above, Beal helped lead this charge by averaging 4.5 assists last season, which was a career high. The entire Wizards organization was behind Beal becoming their leader until Wall was able to get healthy.

Washington failed to maintain the 4th seed they had established heading into the All-Star break and finished the season as the 8th seed. Most had the Wizards not making the playoffs with Wall out, but Beal was able to prove critics wrong. He kept the team afloat and established himself as an elite player in the league.

His polished game and leadership development has instilled extreme faith from Scott Brooks and the coaching staff along with Wizards nation as well. Even Wall has finally realized that he doesn’t need to carry the load all by himself.

With all that being said, what are the expectations for Beal this season?

Beal is expected to build on his stat line from last season. Just because Wall is healthy, doesn’t mean that Beal’s performance has to suffer. He should benefit the most with the new system that Brooks is implementing in getting up quicker shots and attempting more 3-pointers.

For that reason, I anticipate a minimum of 16-18 FGA’s per game from the sharpshooter in about 35+ MPG. This should allow him to achieve his highest point average this coming season. It also helps that Beal will have better advantages offensively. Washington’s roster is deep. Dwight Howard, Otto Porter Jr., Austin Rivers, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Markieff Morris will force opposing teams to play honest defense. They won’t be able to leave any individuals on the Wizards roster open, allowing Beal to attack the basket in a more aggressive and productive manner.

It seems as though that Beal and Wall are finally on the same page or at least a similar one. In my opinion, that’s been one of the Wizards biggest hindrances in elevating to the next level. On top of that, it’s been one another’s biggest downfalls.

Now that they are on the same page, they have an opportunity to do something special this season. I stand by my stance that they will be the best back court in the Eastern Conference.

A career year is on the horizon for Beal.

Projected Stat Line: 24 PTS, 5.2 TRB, 4.6 AST | 48 FG%, 39.5 FG3%, 80.1 FT%