NBA Playoffs: 5 takeaways from Game 1 between Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers

Game 1 Takeaway #2: Bradley Beal can EAT vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

It may seem obvious that Bradley Beal would be able to get his buckets against the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA’s second-leading scorer got buckets against everyone during the regular season, 76ers not excluded. He averaged 36.7 points while shooting 55.7 percent from the field and 55.0 percent from three in three losses to Philadelphia this season.

But everything gets ratcheted up in the playoffs, especially on the defensive end, especially against opposing stars. Plus, the 76ers have several good-to-great perimeter defenders they can throw at Beal, including Danny Green, Matisse Thybulle, and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ben Simmons. They had the number one defensive rating in the East this season for a reason.

In game one, Beal was unbothered. He looked fine through the first half, but in the third quarter, Beal really exploded, scoring 17 of his team-high 33 points. Beal added 10 rebounds and six assists before the final buzzer, becoming the third player in franchise history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game. It was also the first double-double of Beal’s playoff career.

Beal has a history of solid playoff performances, but it’s been a while since he’s been in the playoffs, and things are much different now than they were in 2018. He’s a much better player and the number one option on offense. That definitely earned him extra defensive attention in his return to playoff basketball, but it didn’t seem to slow him down.

Beal can get his, but he needs to avoid resorting to hero ball down the stretch. He’s tough to stop in isolation, but we saw a lot of hero ball in the fourth quarter during game one, and it didn’t get the job done.