The OFFICIAL Rookie impressions thread pt. II

[Floater]

Beal passes the eye test for me. He's a smart player and he's gonna be really good in this league. Takes smart shots that will start to fall as he gains more and more confidence.

[XtotheDeezy]

I admit that I am eating crow. I thought Beal was going to be a bad pick and his poor start to the season re-affirmed that thought, but now he's doing well and if John Wall can stay healthy, they've got a sick back court.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Dion Waiters is in the same position..And they're shooting the exact same percentage with very similar stats overall.

So.........

Waiters is like 3 years older and his shot selection isn't great. Beal was missing good wide open shots that are now falling. You have to watch him to understand that not just comb through box scores. Plus Beal is already an above average defender at 19 years old.

[RipCity71252]

I don't know about Beal. They way we moves around the court, he can look pretty sluggish at times. He has a pretty form, but it's pretty deliberate right now which affects his accuracy when he's closely guarded. If he has space and is allowed to get a rhythm dribble in off of a hand off or screen, he's shooting looks pretty good though.

The worry I have with him is his ball handling. He's not really that advanced here which I think might hinder his ability to be a great scorer. Ball handling is tough to improve significantly also. He'll get better, but I don't envision him ever being an isolation type player and could limit his effectiveness in the pnr.

He has enough talent to be a nice third option on a good team with his solid if not spectacular offensive game and his good D (doesn't really have the physical profile to be anymore than that), just not sure if that's what you shoot for out of a third pick.

He's really young though so it should be interesting to see how much he develops.

[ComboGuardCity]

Dion Waiters is in the same position..And they're shooting the exact same percentage with very similar stats overall.

So.........

Waiters is like 3 years older and his shot selection isn't great. Beal was missing good wide open shots that are now falling. You have to watch him to understand that not just comb through box scores. Plus Beal is already an above average defender at 19 years old.

Actually 18 months. He was missing wide open shots at UF as well. That's why those Ray Allen comparisons never made any sense. Now you're using a <5 game sample size to call them good shots?

[TheBigThree]

Actually 18 months. He was missing wide open shots at UF as well. That's why those Ray Allen comparisons never made any sense. Now you're using a <5 game sample size to call them good shots?

What point are you arguing? Is he a chucker taking bad shots? Or are they wide open shots that any NBA player should be able to knock down?

It's certainly the latter for Beal, and he's starting to hit them. I can probably count on one hand the amount of bad shots he's taken this year. Believe me, the one thing you can't lecture Wizards fans about is what is a good and a bad shot. We've consistently had a team of players who couldn't tell the difference if their life depended on it.

Beal isn't one of those players. That said, he needs to continue this streak and make it the norm. I would agree with you at some point they will become bad shots if he just can't knock them down reliably, but it's way too early in his career to make that assertion.

RipCity: You're dead on regarding his handles. He needs to clean things up there, if possible. If anything prevents him from being an all star caliber two guard, it's his lack of ability to put the ball on the floor and average foot speed.

[Mr. Krabs]

Only watched him a couple of times, but Bradley's game and skillset reminded me of Ben Gordon, do you think it's a fair comparison?

[ComboGuardCity]

Actually 18 months. He was missing wide open shots at UF as well. That's why those Ray Allen comparisons never made any sense. Now you're using a <5 game sample size to call them good shots?

What point are you arguing? Is he a chucker taking bad shots? Or are they wide open shots that any NBA player should be able to knock down?

It's certainly the latter for Beal, and he's starting to hit them. I can probably count on one hand the amount of bad shots he's taken this year. Believe me, the one thing you can't lecture Wizards fans about is what is a good and a bad shot. We've consistently had a team of players who couldn't tell the difference if their life depended on it.

Beal isn't one of those players. That said, he needs to continue this streak and make it the norm. I would agree with you at some point they will become bad shots if he just can't knock them down reliably, but it's way too early in his career to make that assertion.

RipCity: You're dead on regarding his handles. He needs to clean things up there, if possible. If anything prevents him from being an all star caliber two guard, it's his lack of ability to put the ball on the floor and average foot speed.

I'm saying that even though he's open, maybe its still not a good shot. It reminds of the Pistons and rodney stuckey. He's always open from 3, but nobody wants him shooting that shot because he's a terrible shooter. Beal has run a string of 3 nice shooting games. Let's see if he can sustain it somewhat before we say he's a consistent shooter taking good shots. I like Beal because he plays defense. This isn't trashing him, it's just what I observed.

[BrooklynBulls]

Only watched him a couple of times, but Bradley's game and skillset reminded me of Ben Gordon, do you think it's a fair comparison?

Bradley Beal? No. He's not really Gordon at all. Gordon is a smaller, less athletic player with a deadeye jumpshot who worked best with the ball in his hands, and had fantastic dribble moves to free himself on the perimeter, but lacked touch and decision-making at the basket, and whose passing was simply atrocious for the first part of his career.

Beal's a much more in-the-flow, dont force anything player who is probably better off ball at this point in his career, with more athleticism, length, and generally better instincts.

Maybe in terms of player quality, they'll turn out comparable. But they're pretty different as types.

[Hero]

Beal deserves the benefit of the doubt since he's playing for Washington which lacks talent and is a toxic team. It's good to see him doing better this year but it's a very small sample size so we need to see more. From what I've seen he hasn't been as good a shot as advertised. I remember on draft night so much was made of how he was a pure shooter and the next Ray Allen but I don't see it..

[junot111]

Lol I remember at the beginning of the year when Waiters was shooting 50+% from 3pt and everyone was jizzing their pants, I stated that was fool's gold and someone called me a hater. Look at his numbers now...

[Optms]

His shots haven't fallen but he looked incredible in that highlight clip (Beal).

Looked much more veteran than rookie looking for his shot. What I enjoyed the most was his shot selection, it was a nice change of pace to see him mix his shots up. Not just stand at the top of the arc and chuck threes. Nothing was forced and he moved great without the ball to get his shots. Very good looking form on his shot as well. Kid has a bright future in this league and probably sooner rather than later the moment Wall gets back.

[DusterBuster]

Lillard got his shooting stroke back tonight. 20pts (7-14FG / 3-5 from 3), 6asts and 4rebs.

[Malapropism]

Why has Davis played only 12 minutes today?

[DusterBuster]

Why has Davis played only 12 minutes today?

I was just about to ask that myself.

[sir G Wallace]

Seriously nobody has the damn answer to why Davis played just 12 minutes? It is not even in the ESPN recap.

[menten]

i watched the hornets game. he got in foul trouble early and then sucked when he came back in. anderson end jason smith especially were shooting the lights out in the 2nd half

[witnessraps]

Seriously nobody has the damn answer to why Davis played just 12 minutes? It is not even in the ESPN recap.

19 year old rookie

the coach felt he had a better chance to win with other players tonight.

[crowd goes wild]

Why has Davis played only 12 minutes today?

Foul trouble and I don't think Monty wanted him on Dirk. Plus Jason Smith had the hot hand

[DowJones]

Waiters needs to improve for sure, but he has shown flashes. He is a rookie that needs to learn the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. He will never be D-Wade, but he can be a very productive NBA player.