Bradley Beal

[TheBigThree]

Officially out of the starting lineup. Not a good sign for the #3 pick. Had a few nice takes to the basket tonight and then got sat on the bench for 1.5 quarters. Came back in and missed a few shots.

Tough way to start a career.

[FAH1223]

he should have been coming off the bench from day 1...

[omegatronic3]

shooting 1-11 doesnt get you on the starting lineup. This team is so bad Beal should be lighting it up.
Granted Beal is young and this team is God aweful but so far I see nothing to make me believe Beil is gonna be an impactful player. Hes undersized and seems like hes having trouble adjusting to the size of two guards in the NBA.
Unless he is a reliable shooter his worth will be diminished

[AFM]

He also needs to work on his handle. If he can't break down his defender, he is going to be limited to catch and shoot off screens.

[dangermouse]

Whenever i saw him recieve the ball on the perimeter today, he was absolutely hounded by the guy marking him, right up in his grill. I guess his lack of ability to create his own shot off the dribble combined with his inexperience are the reason for that.

He looked good in transition, but that was all he had going.

He's going to be a good piece to have in the puzzle that is the Wizards, he just needs the right pieces around him to fit in properly.

Jordan Crawford might be the best player we have right now. He sucks defensively but he is the only guy who can put the ball in the hole, which is what the game is about... sigh. I think he has improved a little from seasons past. It isnt a stat that is tracked, so i have no numbers to back this up, but i think his total "WHYDIDYOUTAKETHATSHOT"'s per game have been down a bit so far.

[Knighthonor]

So what's all this talk about Wade also having problems his first 8 games of his first season?

[nate33]

I'm extremely disappointed in Beal. I've finally come to the conclusion that players really don't improve all that much once they get into the league, particularly guards. If they're not pretty good right away, it's unlikely that they'll ever become good. Right now, Beal's ORtg is 92 and he has shown no above average skill. That's embarassing. While I'm sure it'll get better, I'm losing faith that there will be a dramatic transformation. WYSIWYG. Beal is a mediocre player at best. We are no longer talking Ray Allen, Eric Gordon, or a shorter James Harden. I'm thinking his upside is more like Randy Foye, Bobby Phils or Hubert Davis. Basically, a below average starter or a bench player. Yay. Another bench player.

[AFM]

I'm extremely disappointed in Beal. I've finally come to the conclusion that players really don't improve all that much once they get into the league, particularly guards. If they're not pretty good right away, it's unlikely that they'll ever become good. Right now, Beal's ORtg is 92 and he has shown no above average skill. That's embarassing. While I'm sure it'll get better, I'm losing faith that there will be a dramatic transformation. WYSIWYG. Beal is a mediocre player at best. We are no longer talking Ray Allen, Eric Gordon, or a shorter James Harden. I'm thinking his upside is more like Randy Foye, Bobby Phils or Hubert Davis. Basically, a below average starter or a bench player. Yay. Another bench player.

Not necessarily true... check this out
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... oga01.html

He's 19, man. I think thats when I lost my virginity.
Kidd Gilchrist is averaging 11 and 6. Is he a bust too?

[closg00]

I'm extremely disappointed in Beal. I've finally come to the conclusion that players really don't improve all that much once they get into the league, particularly guards. If they're not pretty good right away, it's unlikely that they'll ever become good. Right now, Beal's ORtg is 92 and he has shown no above average skill. That's embarassing. While I'm sure it'll get better, I'm losing faith that there will be a dramatic transformation. WYSIWYG. Beal is a mediocre player at best. We are no longer talking Ray Allen, Eric Gordon, or a shorter James Harden. I'm thinking his upside is more like Randy Foye, Bobby Phils or Hubert Davis. Basically, a below average starter or a bench player. Yay. Another bench player.

I agree, Beal doesn't pass the eyeball test and he has ZERO swag. However, you've got to hope that we will see some dramatic improvements at some point once he gets some experience.

[nate33]

He's 19, man. I think thats when I lost my virginity.
Kidd Gilchrist is averaging 11 and 6. Is he a bust too?

Gilchrist has shown flashes. He is already playing disruptive defense and has proven to be unstoppable in the open court. There are some aspects of the game where he excels and is borderline elite. He is still unquestionably raw and he must become a better shooter, but if he does, there is real star potential there.

Beal hasn't proven to be above average at anything. At best, he's a solid rebounder for such a young guard. Other than that, there's nothing about his game that stands out.

To be clear, I was in favor of drafting Beal so I'm not bashing EG for the pick. I'm just saying that I'm no longer going to expect much. In the past, I've wasted too much emotional energy hoping and praying that our young players "develop". They never do. And the reason is that they're not that good in the first place.

I'm going to lower my expectations. Beal is a "meh" player. Seraphin might one day pan out to be a reasonably effective scorer, but not a great all around player. He could have the impact of a Brandon Bass or someone like that, but I'm not expecting much more. He won't be a legit, above-average starter.

The talent cupboard is bare as can be. Nene is the only really good player on the team. Wall is pretty good and I believe he has more upside, but that's it. We could dump everyone else on the roster and replace them all next year with middling draft picks and cheap free agents, and I don't think there would be much difference.

[dangermouse]

He should try being a long term fan

[Knighthonor]

Not real bad. Considering wiz get top draft pick.

Darn it, too bad they didnt choose next season to do the tanking

#AndrewWigginsForWizards

[Nivek]

Not real bad. Considering wiz get top draft pick.

Darn it, too bad they didnt choose next season to do the tanking

#AndrewWigginsForWizards

Perhaps you've heard of the draft lottery. If the Wizards have the league's worst record, they have a 25% chance of getting the top pick. Which, by elimination, means they have a 75% chance of not getting the first pick in the draft.

[montestewart]

Not real bad. Considering wiz get top draft pick.

Darn it, too bad they didnt choose next season to do the tanking

#AndrewWigginsForWizards

So they chose to play horribly part of a calculated tank to get the #1 pick? If so, it's working perfectly. "Going for #1" could have been the sales pitch. But don't fret, "Whoops, blew that one, still going for #1" could be the tagline next year.

[DCZards]

I've been frustrated by Beal's inconsistent shooting and his passiveness at times..although I've seen steady improvement in recent games. But I have to say I absolutely love his poise and maturity. Whether you agree with them or not, Beal's comments (below) sound like those of a 10 year vet rather than a 19-year old rookie.

“We just lost. Everybody hates losing. You just see the guys faces, it’s like depression. We haven’t won a game yet,” Bradley Beal said. “We still have [71] more games. It’s still a long season. We still have our opportunity to get over .500. Right now, it’s our goal we have to shoot for, is to probably get into the playoffs. We’re going to make it. I have faith in this team. I have confidence in us. I think we’re more than capable of doing it, with the assets that we have. As long as guys keep buying in and never give up, we’ll be fine.”

Beal said Randy Wittman is not the reason why the team remains winless.

“As much as he wants to take credit for it, the game is in our hands. He’s not the one to blame; it’s us. That just shows his leadership. I even blame myself. I had an opportunity to sieze the game and I didn’t. Coach Witt, we’re all buying into him. We love him to death. He wants the best for us.”