Bradley Beal

[Dat2U]

I don't have a problem with overly cautious, especially during the summer. Rush Beal back for what?

[verbal8]

I don't have a problem with overly cautious, especially during the summer. Rush Beal back for what?

Summer league championships are almost as important as winning the "9th seed".

[dckingsfan]

OK, seeing all this... happy we have plenty of wings.

[Jay81]

I don't have a problem with overly cautious, especially during the summer. Rush Beal back for what?

how is he suppose to be work on his game if he is not doing anything?

[rockymac52]

I'm expecting Beal to get off to a slow start again this season, mostly because of how long he's taking to recover from this injury, and all of the lost time in the gym as a result. It's not the end of the world, as I am still very confident in his long-term potential, and I expect him to be looking great by the 2nd half of the season again. Interesting that this would be the 3rd season in a row where he's started slow and ended strong though, hypothetically. Having Wall (knock on wood) at the start of the season, along with everybody else (knock on wood three times) should help Beal start off strong, since part of his development last season clearly had something to do with Wall's return, but I still think Beal will be pretty rusty in November and December. Hope I'm wrong though!

[pancakes3]

I had no idea that Beal wasn't cleared to run until just recently. I thought he was fine weeks ago. I could have sworn I saw him take a jumpshot or two in one of the last couple games of the season back in April. He was at least up walking, dribbling, and moving without hindrance during timeouts and shootarounds.

[hands11]

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/nba/ ... lines?rw=1

Bradley Beal (right fibula) plans to start contact work in the next week or so after consulting with his agent and doctor.

"I have to take it slow. That’s the reason I didn’t participate [at Team USA minicamp] I didn’t want to force the issue and end up being reinjured," Beal said. "Patience is definitely key." The expectation is that he will be ready for training camp in late September. Beal was in Las Vegas for Summer League and took some shots with kids while he didn't look bothered by the injury that cost him three months of playing time in his rookie season. He came on strong before going down and will be worth monitoring in all fantasy leagues.

Get er done Double B

[hands11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

Wall spent much of the past week in Las Vegas playing off the ball and working on perimeter jumpers to help open up more one-on-one opportunities for Beal. Beal plans to become a better playmaker and distributor to take some pressure off Wall.

“Each year you want to bring something to your game that the coaches notice and other people are going to notice. That shows you’re working hard and dedicated to getting better,” Beal said. “We both have things in our games that we need to work on — my ballhandling, his shooting — and we’re both working hard at it, and we’re both competing against each other. We take it seriously. At the end of the day, it’s going to make our team better as well.”

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PLAYER D>>DDDDD>>DDDDDevelopment.

Sounds like Beal is working on the Wade part of the Allen/Wade game he is projected to mold into.

[dangermouse]

Nice. I remember Wall playing off the ball a couple of times last season with Price at point. It was only for a few plays here and there but it wasnt the disaster you would immediately peg it as.

If anything, Beal improving his handles through this training would be a real gift for our offense. Not saying he is a bad ball handler, but he is definitely average for a guard. I think his passing is a little underrated. Maybe not so much his passing, but just his general vision and nose for the game on offense. Adding to those skills and meshing them all together, he could develop into an even better player than most of us are banking on.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Nice. I remember Wall playing off the ball a couple of times last season with Price at point. It was only for a few plays here and there but it wasnt the disaster you would immediately peg it as.

If anything, Beal improving his handles through this training would be a real gift for our offense. Not saying he is a bad ball handler, but he is definitely average for a guard. I think his passing is a little underrated. Maybe not so much his passing, but just his general vision and nose for the game on offense. Adding to those skills and meshing them all together, he could develop into an even better player than most of us are banking on.

I don't think Beal's handles were average for a guard. It was pretty bad last year (automatic turnover against ball pressure), but it kinda improved towards the end of the year. If he can get that up to above average, his potential will be unlimited.

[nate33]

Yeah, Beal definitely has below average handles for a guard. He had no ability whatsoever to run PG in a pinch and it showed. He looked a little uncomfortable with the ball whenever he brought it up under any kind of pressure.

He is a good passer though and has very good court vision. He posted a respectable assist percentage given how rarely he touched the ball in a typical offensive set. His assist percentage was highest on the team excluding point guards, part time point guards, and Nene.

I really like the thought of Wall and Beal practicing against each other, each working on their weaknesses. If Beal can manage to beat Wall off the dribble in practice, he'll surely be able to handle himself in games. Likewise, if Wall can hone his perimeter game against Beal in practice, he'll be fine in games.

[Dat2U]

I think Beal's handles are actually okay for a SG. Certainly not good enough for a PG but he does show the ability to put the ball on the deck and get to the rim.

The key is Beal's handles aren't so limited that he's only an off the ball player or spot up shooter. His handles are not as remedial as McLemore for example who looks completely lost when forced to take more than a dribble or two. That makes a big difference b/w a guard who's a role player and a core guy you build around.

[pancakes3]

Beal's ballhandling doesn't just keep him from being a combo-guard, or allow Wall to play off-ball. The most detrimental part of not having handles is that he can't take it to the rim and draw fouls. It limits not only him, but how defenses play him/others, and how end-of-game scenarios play out.

[tontoz]

Beal's ballhandling doesn't just keep him from being a combo-guard, or allow Wall to play off-ball. The most detrimental part of not having handles is that he can't take it to the rim and draw fouls. It limits not only him, but how defenses play him/others, and how end-of-game scenarios play out.

I think you are underestimating him. He certainly can't play combo guard but he can get to the rim and draw fouls. Not many rookies get to the line a lot.

Among 2s he was 15th in FT attempts per game.

[Nivek]

Adjusted for pace, Beal was average in FTA per minute -- very similar to Ray Allen's pace-adjusted, per minute FTAs. Allen's FTA went up as he matured and established himself in the league before dropping again as he became more of a 3pt specialist later in his career. I'd anticipate Beal doing the same.

[nate33]

Also, Ray Allen's FTA's were boosted because he was always the designated technical free throw shooter. Beal doesn't have that advantage as Webster and Wall usually were picked to shoot technicals.

[Wizardspride]

Bradley Beal has finally been cleared for contact


After four months, Bradley Beal was finally cleared to go full contact after his stress injury in his right fibula, according to both Randy Wittman and Ernie Grunfeld.

"He has been working hard the last month, but he hadn't been in game shape. Obviously, it's one thing to do drills, it's another to do it in a game-type situation. But now he's cleared for full contact," Grunfeld said.

Beal has been working out at the Verizon Center this week with, at different points, Wall, Otto Porter, Glen Rice Jr. and Kevin Seraphin. Wittman said he functionally has been healthy enough to do workouts since July, and he will continue to develop his ball-handling and pick and roll game to potentially use Wall off the ball more, depending on how training camp goes.

"I'm going to try to initiate some of that, see if [Wall] can handle something like that," Wittman said. "Bradley's, since the first of July, has been able to get back full blow and we've been able to get him where, up until July, he was kind of limited in what he could do on the floor with us. But now, he's been here all week."

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

I don't understand the infatuation with playing Wall off the ball. His best asset is his playmaking for others.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I agree that's his best asset 20MI1V, but I would argue he's also a terrific finisher at the rim. Wall rolling to the hole is going to usually get fouled or score. It would be a nice wrinkle to get John points at the rim where he doesn't have to break his man down. Might help Wall get points late in games, when his jumper might not be reliable. As far as a pick and pop, no, I don't want Wall shooting mid range. I don't want him moving off the ball for jumpers (except possibly a corner three, which I am going to post in the Wall thread).

The context for Wall off the ball is more about an experiment with Beal...

I think it's good to try and improve Beal's handle. I think this is more about growing Beal's game and his ability to handle the ball and make plays on pick and roll. Bradley doesn't need to be one dimensional on offense. Wittman did say he wanted to see if Wall could handle moving off the ball. I don't think he's going to push it if doesn't work out too well. Randy said in the Wall press conference that he doesn't want Wall to think he has to change now that he's a max contract guy. I wouldn't worry about the off the ball experiment they're going to do.

[Ruzious]

I agree that's his best asset 20MI1V, but I would argue he's also a terrific finisher at the rim. Wall rolling to the hole is going to usually get fouled or score. It would be a nice wrinkle to get John points at the rim where he doesn't have to break his man down. Might help Wall get points late in games, when his jumper might not be reliable. As far as a pick and pop, no, I don't want Wall shooting mid range. I don't want him moving off the ball for jumpers (except possibly a corner three, which I am going to post in the Wall thread).

The context for Wall off the ball is more about an experiment with Beal...

I think it's good to try and improve Beal's handle. I think this is more about growing Beal's game and his ability to handle the ball and make plays on pick and roll. Bradley doesn't need to be one dimensional on offense. Wittman did say he wanted to see if Wall could handle moving off the ball. I don't think he's going to push it if doesn't work out too well. Randy said in the Wall press conference that he doesn't want Wall to think he has to change now that he's a max contract guy. I wouldn't worry about the off the ball experiment they're going to do.

And not to mention that Wall will often have a significant height advantage over his defender - which he can take advantage of receiving passes closer to the basket.