Bradley Beal

[nate33]

His shot is a bit slow for the 3pt comp

Still i think he would have a chance if he gets hot

Can we still get the Beard for him?

I kid, I kid...

I would still trade Beal for Harden.

[mohammed10]

Nate - defintiely agree. I would also.

But here's the thing - would Ted (or Ernie)?

[hands11]

His shot is a bit slow for the 3pt comp

Still i think he would have a chance if he gets hot

Its not slow anymore. Have you been watching ?

[dangermouse]

His shot is a bit slow for the 3pt comp

Still i think he would have a chance if he gets hot

Its not slow anymore. Have you been watching ?

Yeah i've been watching him get at least one jumper blocked per game.

I dont want to sound like im knocking the guy or anything, he is playing great for a rook, its just something he needs to work on.

[GhostsOfGil]

His shot is a bit slow for the 3pt comp

Still i think he would have a chance if he gets hot

Its not slow anymore. Have you been watching ?

Yeah i've been watching him get at least one jumper blocked per game.

I dont want to sound like im knocking the guy or anything, he is playing great for a rook, its just something he needs to work on.

His release is a tad slow but he's doing a great job using pump fakes and step back moves to get separation.

[tontoz]

His shot is a bit slow for the 3pt comp

Still i think he would have a chance if he gets hot

Its not slow anymore. Have you been watching ?

Yeah i've been watching him get at least one jumper blocked per game.

I dont want to sound like im knocking the guy or anything, he is playing great for a rook, its just something he needs to work on.

His release isn't slow on catch and shoot 3s. He has been getting those off pretty quickly. The only time it is slow is on pullup j's off the dribble.

[nate33]

Yup. I think a plausible explanation for his early shooting slump is that he had to rework his shot to increase his speed of release.

[payitforward]

Yup. I think a plausible explanation for his early shooting slump is that he had to rework his shot to increase his speed of release.

Yeah, and maybe also that he was a 19 year old rookie playing vs. men in a professional context for the first time.

It's interesting how closely we seem to want to watch this kid, which of course leads us into all manner of speculative weirdness... "his release is a little slow", "his neck is a little short...."

As to trading him for Harden, why wouldn't anyone do that? Harden is proven at an elite level. But to do such a deal you'd have to give more than Beal, and the only thing we have to give that could conceivably interest Houston (or OKC back then) would be our future.

The time to do the deal for Harden would have been when we had Rashard's contract to include in a trade.

Meanwhile, this being a Beal thread, I'm happy to enjoy his development.

[Nivek]

Latest at the blog -- Latest stats update, including a look at Beal's January. In the blog post, I suggest pumping the brakes with Beal since virtually all of his improvement has been improved shooting from 3pt range. I still think he's going to be an excellent player, but I don't think he'll continue shooting 60% from 3pt range.

[deneem4]

3 games this yr where he havent shot better than 50% from the 3

[manifested]

Latest at the blog -- Latest stats update, including a look at Beal's January. In the blog post, I suggest pumping the brakes with Beal since virtually all of his improvement has been improved shooting from 3pt range. I still think he's going to be an excellent player, but I don't think he'll continue shooting 60% from 3pt range.

Wow. The difference in 3pt% from December to January is a little insane (19% to 60%). We can't expect something around 60% but we should certainly expect something well above the teens. If Beal can settle in at something in the high 30s, I think we'd all be pretty excited. Optimistically, I'd also expect his 2pt% to increase a bit over the course of the season as he continues to adapt to the league.

Given how he's slowed down the last two games should we be worried about his wrist? He was on a hot streak but that fall has basically put an end to that. Hopefully, that's not something that lingers too long.

[tontoz]

Latest at the blog -- Latest stats update, including a look at Beal's January. In the blog post, I suggest pumping the brakes with Beal since virtually all of his improvement has been improved shooting from 3pt range. I still think he's going to be an excellent player, but I don't think he'll continue shooting 60% from 3pt range.

Wow. The difference in 3pt% from December to January is a little insane (19% to 60%). We can't expect something around 60% but we should certainly expect something well above the teens. If Beal can settle in at something in the high 30s, I think we'd all be pretty excited. Optimistically, I'd also expect his 2pt% to increase a bit over the course of the season as he continues to adapt to the league.

Given how he's slowed down the last two games should we be worried about his wrist? He was on a hot streak but that fall has basically put an end to that. Hopefully, that's not something that lingers too long.

Good point. Same thing happened when he tried to dunk on Josh Smith and got floored.

[Nivek]

His 2pt% MUST improve. He's doing okay in terms of finishing at the rim (59%), but only 20% of his shots are coming at-rim. 38% of his FGA are from 16-23 feet, and he's shooting .309 on those shots.

Compare with James Harden*. Harden finishes better at-rim (.660), but more importantly, 38% of his FGA are at-rim. He also shoots that long 2pt shot better (.390), but just 17% of his FGA are from that range. 73% of Harden's FGA are at-rim or from 3pt range (the spots where pts per shot are highest); with Beal, it's 54%.

* -- I know it's not "fair" to compare Harden -- a 4th year veteran who knows what he's doing and is blossoming into one of the game's best SGs this season) -- and Beal -- a 19-year old rookie who's still trying to figure things out. But, I'm hoping Beal can become a Harden-like player, so it's worth a look. All that said, Harden's ROOKIE shot selection was also better -- 76% of his FGA came at-rim or from 3pt range.

The Wizards, in general, shoot way too many long 2s. This is an area that coaching should address.

[dobrojim]

after someone posted that they didn't think he had a very good left hand I watched
for that last night. Limited sample size but I don't agree...(also based on my recollection).

Personal aside -
There is a girl on Jacqui's team that is a strong aggressive athlete but is
helpless with her left hand. It's a shame. I generally like her coach but gotta
say that if I were coaching them in practice, I would not let her continue
to be a one handed player. Even at JV level, she's beginning to struggle
with it. Next year, assuming she makes varsity, she won't be able to get
away with it at all. All you have to do to shut her completely down is
take away her right hand.

Beal is nothing like that.

[hands11]

after someone posted that they didn't think he had a very good left hand I watched
for that last night. Limited sample size but I don't agree...(also based on my recollection).

Personal aside -
There is a girl on Jacqui's team that is a strong aggressive athlete but is
helpless with her left hand. It's a shame. I generally like her coach but gotta
say that if I were coaching them in practice, I would not let her continue
to be a one handed player. Even at JV level, she's beginning to struggle
with it. Next year, assuming she makes varsity, she won't be able to get
away with it at all. All you have to do to shut her completely down is
take away her right hand.

Beal is nothing like that.

Right. I saw him dribble around just fine with this left hand yesterday and he did the same to close out the game when that original comment was posted.

Tough game for Beal. They definitely set their sites on shutting him down and he was gun shy. He keep pumping but was afraid to let it fly. Just another learning experience. Some nights are bad match ups. And as a rookie, there is lots to learn and lots of adjustments to make.

His catch and shoot release is faster now and he had been more decisive. He was also doing better with the pump, step to a spot and release. He was just off on what to do yesterday. Do you step to the side ? Step back ? Step forward ? Its a quick read and he just wasn't making it well and they had good defender on him. Experience will help.

Zero FTA the last two games tells me that last tough fall he took hurt him and he isn't all the way better yet. He is avoiding driving and getting creamed again. I though I remember him taking a charge right in the chest last game. I think he did it out of instinct but I got the feeling it hurt getting hit like that right in the chest so soon after the tough fall.

Something to monitor. He should be better in a game or two.