Bradley Beal - Part III

[TGW]

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Damn. Heat fans got owned. And good lord, Brandon has WMDs attached to his torso.

[nate33]

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Beal has typically been a slow starter - playing lousy in November and December until hitting his stride in January/February. This could make things worse.

[prime1time]

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Beal has typically been a slow starter - playing lousy in November and December until hitting his stride in January/February. This could make things worse.

Perhaps but I still expect Beal to have the best season of his career. The way he has grown and blossomed as a player just leaves me in awe.

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Plus with the condense season, it could really turn into a blessing in disguise.

[nate33]

Eight games into the season, and Beal is currently leading the league in scoring by a country mile. He is averaging 34.2 points per game. The next highest on the list are Curry and Harden who are averaging 29.6 and 29.4 respectively.

Beal is posting a TS% of .597, the second best of his career and his best since he made the jump from second-option co-star to first option superstar.

He is 3rd in the league in FTA's per game at 10.1, and he is hitting 86.4% of his free throws.

He is also averaging the most rebounds in his career (5.3) and the third most assists (4.8).

After a woeful start, even his 3-point shooting has recovered. He is now shooting 37.5% on 3's.

I wonder if he will get snubbed from the All-Star Game again.

[tontoz]

That was an epic display last night. A little disappointed he didn't get another point to get the record by himself.

[Shanghai Kid]

I can put him over prime Gilbert...once he starts closing games/doing better in the clutch.

I think Gilbert lead the league or was 2nd in 4th quarter points for two seasons, and I think he also lead the league in game-winning shots from 2005-2007. Beal is not an elite closer, but he could easily become that.

But Beal is clearly entering that elite offensive tier where he has no real offensive weakness and can drop 50 on any night. His improvement year to year is fantastic.

[ILOVEIT]

Warrior fan...I come in peace.
Serious question: What kind of defensive player is Beal?

[nate33]

Warrior fan...I come in peace.
Serious question: What kind of defensive player is Beal?

He is fine. Keyboard warriors look at some of the advanced stats and conclude that Beal is awful defensively, but that's because Beal has to expend so much energy on offense, and he has terrible defensive personnel around him.

Beal isn't a stopper or anything, but he's a totally adequate defender. He is not going to be played off the floor in a playoff game and teams won't intentionally scheme against him in an effort to force him to switch. He holds his own. His biggest failing is that he's a bit lazy at fighting around screens.

[Frichuela]

Warrior fan...I come in peace.
Serious question: What kind of defensive player is Beal?

He is fine. Keyboard warriors look at some of the advanced stats and conclude that Beal is awful defensively, but that's because Beal has to expend so much energy on offense, and he has terrible defensive personnel around him.

Beal isn't a stopper or anything, but he's a totally adequate defender. He is not going to be played off the floor in a playoff game and teams won't intentionally scheme against him in an effort to force him to switch. He holds his own. His biggest failing is that he's a bit lazy at fighting around screens.

Agreed. And don't forget that when it matters (playoffs) Beal has shown he can be a decent defender in the past.

[ILOVEIT]

Warrior fan...I come in peace.
Serious question: What kind of defensive player is Beal?

He is fine. Keyboard warriors look at some of the advanced stats and conclude that Beal is awful defensively, but that's because Beal has to expend so much energy on offense, and he has terrible defensive personnel around him.

Beal isn't a stopper or anything, but he's a totally adequate defender. He is not going to be played off the floor in a playoff game and teams won't intentionally scheme against him in an effort to force him to switch. He holds his own. His biggest failing is that he's a bit lazy at fighting around screens.

Agreed. And don't forget that when it matters (playoffs) Beal has shown he can be a decent defender in the past.

Thanks for the feedback.

[dcstanley]

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=2039994

Curious to see what you guys think!

[prime1time]

I can put him over prime Gilbert...once he starts closing games/doing better in the clutch.

I think Gilbert lead the league or was 2nd in 4th quarter points for two seasons, and I think he also lead the league in game-winning shots from 2005-2007. Beal is not an elite closer, but he could easily become that.

But Beal is clearly entering that elite offensive tier where he has no real offensive weakness and can drop 50 on any night. His improvement year to year is fantastic.

I remember Gilbert missing ft’s in the clutch vs Cleveland. Also, Gilbert was a good player but he was never focused on winning. I remember Gilbert adamantly saying that we shouldn’t focus on defense because we are a scoring team. Beal is better than Gilbert and it really isn’t close.

[nate33]

Current Beal > peak Arenas > peak Wall

Though that's not really fair because current Beal has only done it for 10 games. If he keeps this up, he is clearly the best. 35/5/5 on .600 TS% with respectable defense is way better than anything Arenas put up. It's way better than anything any former Wizard has ever put up.

If we ignore this season, then I'd say:

peak Arenas > 2020 Beal > peak Wall

[Shanghai Kid]

Current Beal > peak Arenas > peak Wall

Though that's not really fair because current Beal has only done it for 10 games. If he keeps this up, he is clearly the best. 35/5/5 on .600 TS% with respectable defense is way better than anything Arenas put up. It's way better than anything any former Wizard has ever put up.

If we ignore this season, then I'd say:

peak Arenas > 2020 Beal > peak Wall

Agreed, I can't argue with the numbers. Beal is performing at a level I never expected. I'm interested to see if he can keep it up and how much of is it a product of being on a terrible team.

[payitforward]

Agreed -- look at his numbers and Luka Doncic's numbers. It's hard to say that Doncic is playing any better than Brad.

Moreover, it's not just his production per 40 minutes, it's doing it given the number of minutes he's playing.

&, if you want to compare a really good player with a guy who just scores a lot of points -- compare his numbers with Donovan Mitchell. (Granted, Mitchell is a really good defender....)

[Kanyewest]

Current Beal > peak Arenas > peak Wall

Though that's not really fair because current Beal has only done it for 10 games. If he keeps this up, he is clearly the best. 35/5/5 on .600 TS% with respectable defense is way better than anything Arenas put up. It's way better than anything any former Wizard has ever put up.

If we ignore this season, then I'd say:

peak Arenas > 2020 Beal > peak Wall

This is the best I could find for peak Arenas
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/arenagi01/gamelog/2007/#364-373-sum:pgl_basic


https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/arenagi01/gamelog/2007/#364-373-sum:pgl_basic

37.5/6.6/5.3 with 43 mpg (a couple of OT IIRC) and a TS% of 62.

[doclinkin]

Arenas meant more to the franchise than Beal currently does. And to the game itself. His ascension prefigured the Stef Curry types of today and necessitated the inclusion of Combo guards in team construction where before that they were labeled as 'tweeners' and were generally used as 6th men for instant offense. Peak Arenas' startling efficiency helped jumpstart the stat driven era, where the Daryl Morey's of the nerdiverse saw Gil hitting outside jumpers, interior shots, and freethrows and realized that was all that any team should be trying for. Gil + Antawn was the future whether we knew it or not. Beal has benefitted from this emphasis and has been very smart in building his game to take advantage of it, but Arenas woke a moribund franchise from the post MJ depression and helped ignite the league, making it watchable again. He was also the first star to take full advantage of the internet.

[nate33]

Current Beal > peak Arenas > peak Wall

Though that's not really fair because current Beal has only done it for 10 games. If he keeps this up, he is clearly the best. 35/5/5 on .600 TS% with respectable defense is way better than anything Arenas put up. It's way better than anything any former Wizard has ever put up.

If we ignore this season, then I'd say:

peak Arenas > 2020 Beal > peak Wall

Agreed, I can't argue with the numbers. Beal is performing at a level I never expected. I'm interested to see if he can keep it up and how much of is it a product of being on a terrible team.

The team actually isn't that terrible. Their net rating is now just -0.8. If you take away all the incomprehensible Ish + Westbrook minutes, they'd be positive.

[DCZards]

Arenas meant more to the franchise than Beal currently does. And to the game itself. His ascension prefigured the Stef Curry types of today and necessitated the inclusion of Combo guards in team construction where before that they were labeled as 'tweeners' and were generally used as 6th men for instant offense. Peak Arenas' startling efficiency helped jumpstart the stat driven era, where the Daryl Morey's of the nerdiverse saw Gil hitting outside jumpers, interior shots, and freethrows and realized that was all that any team should be trying for. Gil + Antawn was the future whether we knew it or not. Beal has benefitted from this emphasis and has been very smart in building his game to take advantage of it, but Arenas woke a moribund franchise from the post MJ depression and helped ignite the league, making it watchable again. He was also the first star to take full advantage of the internet.

I disagree that Arenas has meant more to the franchise than Beal.

Gilbert benefitted significantly from playing alongside Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler, two highly respected, hard working professionals who helped shoulder the load both on and off the court. The presence of Jamison and Butler--and their leadership--allowed Arenas to be the flaky, mercurial talent that we all know and love.

Beal has not had anywhere near that level of support. In fact, Brad has had to pretty much singlehandedly carry the Zards for almost two years now. He's been the only reason that many fans even go to home games, because not only does he score 30 pts a game and piles up rebounds and assists...he also gives fans hope that the Zards can actually win the game

Gil was no doubt an awesome talent. I enjoyed immensely watching him play at our Chinatown arena. I loved when GA would go to Barry Farms and ball with the locals.

But, imo, Beal has meant much more to the DC franchise—both on and off the court. If he remains a Wizard, I fully expect BB's number to someday hang in the rafters at the Cap One Arena.

[payitforward]

Current Beal > peak Arenas > peak Wall

Though that's not really fair because current Beal has only done it for 10 games. If he keeps this up, he is clearly the best. 35/5/5 on .600 TS% with respectable defense is way better than anything Arenas put up. It's way better than anything any former Wizard has ever put up.

If we ignore this season, then I'd say:

peak Arenas > 2020 Beal > peak Wall

Agreed, I can't argue with the numbers. Beal is performing at a level I never expected. I'm interested to see if he can keep it up and how much of is it a product of being on a terrible team.

The team actually isn't that terrible. Their net rating is now just -0.8. If you take away all the incomprehensible Ish + Westbrook minutes, they'd be positive.

Amazing, isn't it? The Magic are 6-5, & they are -.4.5.

Of course, with so few games any one game can make an enormous difference. Take away our biggest win & our biggest loss, & we're -2.1. Do the same w/ Orlando, & they're -2.7. Much closer.