Bradley Beal - Part II

[Illmatic21]

Beal is younger than most of those players you named and is better than them. Lillard is Wall's age, he'd better be really good by now.

I don't know how one could say Beal hasn't improved, he's able to handle a much bigger role in the offense this year (albeit still in over his head). His ballhandling is a lot better, and I didn't think he'd be able to pass the ball this well either. He's had some 8,9,10 assist games that have really surprised me.


I'm still a huge fan of his, but I must admit I get extremely frustrated that we aren't getting a chance to see how good he could be if properly utilized.

[DCZards]

Good points above - you could say that Beal really doesn't have many peers in that group. They are either bigs or older. It might be a touch of homerism though...

But to say that Lamb hasn't improved - ugh! His D is soooo much better and now much better than Beal's. His passing is much better. Both his 2 and 3 point percentages are better.

The argument was that we would see a big jump in year 3 - and I have bought into that. And the argument was that we wouldn't see those jumps in other players.

Clearly Lillard and Lamb have taken big jumps as guards. Even Maurice Harkless, Terrance Ross, and Austin Rivers have made good strides.

This isn't doom and gloom - but it is reason for concern. That is the rate of improvement... not if he is improving.

Lillard is very good, but was a borderline all-star as a rookie. So I'm not seeing a major improvement from him between his first and second years. I'm not seeing at all the "big jump" that you say Lamb has made. On top of that, I seriously doubt that opponents game plan to defend Lamb like they do for Beal.

Ross has been good, especially since the trade of Gay, but Rivers and Harkless have been mediocre at best.

And, please, let's not get overly worked up about seeing a "big jump" for Beal in year 3. Raising expectations like that usually results in fans like us looking for more improvement than is reasonable to expect. Let's just expect and hope for steady improvement by Beal...so that he's a stud (and all-star) by maybe year 4 or 5.

[Induveca]

Beal, above all else needs to work on his ball handling/slashing skills.

I cringe whenever he is attempting to drive. (That being said not nearly as badly as I do when Ariza does the same)

[dckingsfan]

Beal is younger than most of those players you named and is better than them. Lillard is Wall's age, he'd better be really good by now.

I don't know how one could say Beal hasn't improved, he's able to handle a much bigger role in the offense this year (albeit still in over his head). His ballhandling is a lot better, and I didn't think he'd be able to pass the ball this well either. He's had some 8,9,10 assist games that have really surprised me.


I'm still a huge fan of his, but I must admit I get extremely frustrated that we aren't getting a chance to see how good he could be if properly utilized.

Wait, I didn't say he hasn't improved... I did, and not just his ball handling. I was just citing a reason for concern and that is his rate of improvement.

But no, Beal is not as good as Lillard right now - just isn't

[verbal8]

Good points above - you could say that Beal really doesn't have many peers in that group. They are either bigs or older. It might be a touch of homerism though...

But to say that Lamb hasn't improved - ugh! His D is soooo much better and now much better than Beal's. His passing is much better. Both his 2 and 3 point percentages are better.

The argument was that we would see a big jump in year 3 - and I have bought into that. And the argument was that we wouldn't see those jumps in other players.

Clearly Lillard and Lamb have taken big jumps as guards. Even Maurice Harkless, Terrance Ross, and Austin Rivers have made good strides.

This isn't doom and gloom - but it is reason for concern. That is the rate of improvement... not if he is improving.

Lillard is very good, but was a borderline all-star as a rookie. So I'm not seeing a major improvement from him between his first and second years. I'm not seeing at all the "big jump" that you say Lamb has made. On top of that, I seriously doubt that opponents game plan to defend Lamb like they do for Beal.

Ross has been good, especially since the trade of Gay, but Rivers and Harkless have been mediocre at best.

Rivers improvement is because he started out awful. Now is he merely a not very good NBA player. You may be able to argue that Maynor was better last season. This year Rivers is more a Chris Singleton level.

[Sluggerface]

Lol @ Lamb being a better passer. The Beal hate is getting ridiculous.

[dckingsfan]

OK, I guess I am a Beal hater for bringing up any of the above points. He clearly is going to be the best player in the NBA in 2 years. Not sure why (sarcasm) there are any doubt about that.

Geez... I was only bringing up the question of the rate of Beal's development - specifically in regards to other players in the same draft year.

The hate on those players is ridiculous.

[dckingsfan]

Lol @ Lamb being a better passer. The Beal hate is getting ridiculous.

And yes, Lamb's passing has greatly improved. Have you watched any of OKCs games?

[Sluggerface]

Lol @ Lamb being a better passer. The Beal hate is getting ridiculous.

And yes, Lamb's passing has greatly improved. Have you watched any of OKCs games?

I have, I just thought you were implying that Lamb was a better passer/playmaker than Beal. My bad.

[Illmatic21]

Beal is younger than most of those players you named and is better than them. Lillard is Wall's age, he'd better be really good by now.

I don't know how one could say Beal hasn't improved, he's able to handle a much bigger role in the offense this year (albeit still in over his head). His ballhandling is a lot better, and I didn't think he'd be able to pass the ball this well either. He's had some 8,9,10 assist games that have really surprised me.


I'm still a huge fan of his, but I must admit I get extremely frustrated that we aren't getting a chance to see how good he could be if properly utilized.

Wait, I didn't say he hasn't improved... I did, and not just his ball handling. I was just citing a reason for concern and that is his rate of improvement.

But no, Beal is not as good as Lillard right now - just isn't

Lillard is 23, he's supposed to be better than Beal. And for most of those other players you named, Beal is better than them while still being younger or the same age.

You're concerned about Beal's rate of improvement, but not considering that his role in the offense increased as well. He has the ball in his hands more now, which leads to more defensive attention. Lamb, Ross, Barnes, etc are 3rd-4th options on their teams, at best. If they were their teams' 2nd options like Beal is, their stats would look downright horrid.

Beal is in over his head this season, and Wittman's coaching isn't making things any easier. But he's getting a feel for what life in the NBA is like for a #1/#2 option, and it will drive him to hone his game for next year.

[hands11]

^I don't mind the up and down nature of a second year pro's game. I mind the approach he takes. I hate that he continues to take long 2s early in the shot clock, that he's trying too hard to prove he's capable of creating his own shot, and that while he runs behind screens for the handoff he's taking 10-15 seconds of the shot clock (probably moreso a Wittman issue). He's not a very fun player to watch play right now.

I think a lot of the criticism that Wall took in his first few years in the league helped him realize what he needed to do to prove he was worthy of being selected where he was. Beal is shileded from that level of criticism so I don't know if he gets it.

I agree. And yes, it does have a lot to do with Randy.

As for Beal getting hidden in the shadow of Wall, I think that is about to change. Wall is looking awesome. Draining 3 balls even.

But without Wall as the issues, there is always the Otto story for Beal to hide behind. We will see if that's a big enough shadow. Eventually, I say the light finds Beal. Look at us starting to talk about it.

[hands11]

I'm still not worried at all about Beal. This year, he is really working on expanding all aspects of his game: passing, driving, pull-up jumpers, pick-and-rolls etc. He is getting better at all of it. The unfortunate downside is that in his efforts to broaden his skills, he spends more time doing things where he's less efficient, while spending less time on things where he is most efficient. I think the coaches don't want to reign him in too much because they don't want to hurt his confidence.

While it's frustrating to watch at times, I think it'll be great in the long run. A year or two down the road, after becoming fairly proficient in all aspects of the game, he'll then be able to mix and match his skills to utilize the most effective skill based on what the defense is giving him. People will talk about him making The Leap when in fact he will only be tweaking his game to eliminate the inefficiencies.

I agree that is what happening and he has expanded his game. But now is the time to start trimming back again and focusing on efficiency for the playoffs. Now its about winning and team. He can take the entire summer working on that stuff more. He will be better off for the experience he had trying new things this year. But he will gain more right now by being efficient and winning into the playoffs.

[hands11]

I saw something in the Memphis game that really made me smile. Beal has gotten pretty good at running the pick and roll lately and finally forcing the defense to adjust. At some point in the middle of the 3rd quarter, Beal ran a pick-and-roll with Gortat, he subtly glanced at Gortat as Gortat was rolling, which goaded the help defender to shade toward Gortat a bit, but Beal just kept the ball and exploded to the basket for an easy layup.

It almost reminded me of a Nash/Amare pick-and-roll. Nash had all the nuances mastered so that he was almost unguardable. He ended up with easy layups at the rim despite being the smallest guy on the court because they were so scared to death of his passing that they forgot to guard his shot.

3rd quarter was great when he drove. I was honestly kind of shocked he was able to score with Gasol down there. That's the good stuff. Give me more of that. And the feet planted catch and shoot 3. With some dribble drive passing.

There is new stuff in there. Focus on that. Just kill the step one foot inside the 3 line and shoot crap. And the fading to the left long two off the dribble.

Just some tweaks and his game would look great.

[hands11]

I will say one more thing that worries me the most and that is that some of his peer's are improving faster than he is... Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard, Terrence Jones, Jeremy Lamb, Patrick Beverley, Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Singler, Jared Sullinger, Terrence Ross, John Henson, Miles Plumlee, Harrison Barnes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Maurice Harkless all seem to be progressing faster, and that is worrisome.

I think your list is way to long.

MKG isn't improving faster then Beal.
Jared was already this good. What has he added.
Barnes isn't getting better faster then Beal either.
AD is playing on a losing team with a green light and he already had lots of these skills. And a physical freak.

I think your comparison can be carved up a little better with explanations on who those players were and what they are doing that makes you say they are getting better faster.

[dckingsfan]

Lol @ Lamb being a better passer. The Beal hate is getting ridiculous.

And yes, Lamb's passing has greatly improved. Have you watched any of OKCs games?

I have, I just thought you were implying that Lamb was a better passer/playmaker than Beal. My bad.

No worries - apology for getting testy - kind of ridiculous on my part.

[dckingsfan]

You're concerned about Beal's rate of improvement, but not considering that his role in the offense increased as well.

You make a really good point. Offensively he has improved - in a previous post I stated that his 3 point shooting, handles and passing have improved.

But I was also looking at the defensive side of the ball as well. And he hasn't really taken a jump there (but that is an opinion). And hence the cause for concern - this isn't like Vesely - we are wondering if he can improve at a rate fast enough where he becomes an all-star. The bar is high for Mr. Beal - happily so...

[dckingsfan]

Beal is in over his head this season, and Wittman's coaching isn't making things any easier. But he's getting a feel for what life in the NBA is like for a #1/#2 option, and it will drive him to hone his game for next year.

Violent agreement - and even though I don't like Witt as a coach, I have to agree that letting Beal play through his mistakes is good for the Wizards long term even though it will/has cost us some games this season.

[Knighthonor]

Beal is in over his head this season, and Wittman's coaching isn't making things any easier. But he's getting a feel for what life in the NBA is like for a #1/#2 option, and it will drive him to hone his game for next year.

Violent agreement - and even though I don't like Witt as a coach, I have to agree that letting Beal play through his mistakes is good for the Wizards long term even though it will/has cost us some games this season.

what mistakes are those?

[nate33]

Beal is one of the most important players on the team. We win a whopping 81% of the games in which Beal shoots 50% or better from the floor...




...the only problem is that he has shot 50% or better just 16 times in 58 games this season. And he hasn't cracked the 50% mark in 10 games in a row now.

He really is a dreadful shooter. He's GOT to get better. A lot better.

[FAH1223]

I cringe every time I see this kid pull up for a jumper.

This is also the product of bad coaching.