Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal’s efficient, red-hot shooting scorches Memphis Grizzlies

This late into the Washington Wizards’ season, Bradley Beal is not fading down the stretch, but actually becoming a better and more efficient shooter.

As if we had run out of ways to praise Bradley Beal‘s remarkable season, the Washington Wizards star continued to bolster his case for an All-NBA spot in Saturday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Not only did Beal drop 40 points for the second time in the past 24 hours, but he also had a career-setting night from beyond the arc. In Friday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets, he matched his career-high of 7 made three-pointers; in Saturday’s win against the Grizzlies, he broke that record by nailing 9 from deep.

What makes that new personal record so impressive is that it came off of just 12 attempts, meaning Beal shot 75 percent on three-pointers against a stout Grizzlies defense. He shot 12 for 17 overall in the game. That’s

Beal is putting up monster numbers since the All-Star break, averaging 31.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game. With his team fading from the playoff picture, some might expect the guard would look to pad his stats.

But Beal isn’t simply filling the boxscore in the traditional statistical categories; he’s actually getting more efficient as a shooter. Over this same post-All-Star break period, he’s improved all of his shooting percentages.

Since three-pointers are where he left his mark on Saturday, let’s start there. In the 12 games since his second All-Star Game appearance, Beal is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, compared to 34.9 percent in the first two-thirds of the season. His overall field-goal percentage has improved from 47.2 percent to 50.4 percent over this span.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that his true shooting percentage is 62.7 percent compared to 57.6 percent since the All-Star break.

Beal’s versatility has gotten most of the attention as of late (as he nears a triple-double most every game at this point), but if his shooting continues to improve, even as defenses zero in on him, he will be even more of an offensive force to be reckoned with.