The Amazingly Sucky Bradley Beal

[Godymas]

It seems clear he's been experimenting with his game a little to start the season. He's also had moments where he's willing to let other guys do more with the ball. One great example was when Kispert went in and he was doing nothing and then Beal had a drive to the open rim and paused and instead handed it to Kispert to give him a chance to run the offense and it paid off.

Or the amount of times that he will pass the ball to Deni for an open 3, he's done it a few times now, it seems clear he wants the rookies to get some minutes to get good.

Also he seems to be opting more into working 3s and step backs lately rather than his usual mid range butter.

I just think back to that game against Brooklyn where he chucked up 13 3s. That felt like an experimental game from Brad. The Boston game I have no idea what the hell was going on. Someone cast a voodoo spell over TD Garden because Brad, Tatum and Brown were all trash that game.

[Kanyewest]

It seems clear he's been experimenting with his game a little to start the season. He's also had moments where he's willing to let other guys do more with the ball. One great example was when Kispert went in and he was doing nothing and then Beal had a drive to the open rim and paused and instead handed it to Kispert to give him a chance to run the offense and it paid off.

Or the amount of times that he will pass the ball to Deni for an open 3, he's done it a few times now, it seems clear he wants the rookies to get some minutes to get good.

Also he seems to be opting more into working 3s and step backs lately rather than his usual mid range butter.

I just think back to that game against Brooklyn where he chucked up 13 3s. That felt like an experimental game from Brad. The Boston game I have no idea what the hell was going on. Someone cast a voodoo spell over TD Garden because Brad, Tatum and Brown were all trash that game.

Brown mentioned that having Covid may have affected his game. Maybe the same is true of Beal although he had Covid a few months earlier.

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[tontoz]

So far this season Beal is taking 25 shots per game with a TS of 45%. That is painfully bad. There is no excuse for taking that many shots on a team with this much depth.

[9 and 20]

Maybe he's having a hard time adjusting to having reasonably good basketball players as teammates? Beal has played with some horrendous players these last few years - Mahinmi, Bonga, Jerome Robinson, etc. Also Unseld seems light years different from Brooks and I'm sure that makes a difference.

We're winning though, so whatever! Beal is a talented guy and I'm sure he'll get it together soon.

[WallToWall]

I don’t mind Beal driving the lane, trying to initiate contact, and then missing the layup. He should figure out a way to make those shots while absorbing the contact. This year, with the new rules, that contact will not get him a foul.
What he needs to fix are two things in his game: 1. the (almost) mid range shot with 2 players on him. He should pass up that shot and pass it. 2. The driving into a double or triple team with no idea where his outlet should be. He gets stopped and usually turns it over or forces a bad shot. This is him already making up his mind that he will shoot no matter what. Fix these two things and he becomes an efficient guard again.

[NatP4]

He always starts slow. We know he’s not a 45% TS guy. I just wish he would stop treating the games like it’s a YMCA pickup game. Everyone else on the team plays with great effort and competitiveness and values each and every possession. Sometimes Beal looks like he’s practicing different ISO moves instead of trying to make the right play.

[FAH1223]

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[Illuminaire]

Fun Tweet

My favorite part of that list is how Jokic is basically the same guy, or better, once you factor in that he left one game super early with a knee injury.

The Joker has spent his entire career getting mauled without calls. He was born for this brave new old-school world.

[FAH1223]

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[miller31time]

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I don’t know what that video made me miss more, Beal’s old shooting form or Buck and Phil.

[doclinkin]

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I don’t know what that video made me miss more, Beal’s old shooting form or Buck and Phil.

What looks most different is the fact that he is wide open with time to shoot in all of these clips.

[nate33]

I'm not sure if there's really anything different with the way Beal is playing. He just isn't making shots.

He is shooting 16.7% on 4.0 catch-and-shoot 3PA's per game.
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 38.4% on 4.1 catch-and-shoot 3PA's per game.

If we are assuming catch-and-shoot 3's are good shots, Beal is taking the exact same number of good shots as in previous seasons, but missing nearly all of them. Likewise, his percentage on 2PA's has fallen from 45% to 14.8%, but he doesn't really get many of those so it's not making that much of an impact.

He is shooting 29.2% of 4.0 pullup 3's off the dribble per game.
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 32% on 3.4 pull-up 3's

So he is forcing up a little bit more shots off the bounce, but not much, and his shooting percentage is mostly unchanged. (His attempts and percentages on pullup 2's are basically the same as the last 2 seasons.)

On drives, he is shooting 42.3% on 8.2 per game, with a TOV% of 8.9 and 2.3 FTA's
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 53% of 8.0 drives per game with a TOV% of 6.3 and 3.3 FTA's

So again, his attempts are the same, but the results are worse.

Basically, in terms of his style of play, he looks pretty much the same as last year, except he's taking 1 extra pull-up 3 off the dribble every other game. But other than that, the issue is that his shots are falling, and his drives are resulting in slightly more turnovers and a lot fewer FTA's.

One can certainly argue that he needs to adapt the fact that he has better teammates and he is dealing with different rules, and I hope he will. But let's not act like Beal is playing unusually selfish basketball. He is playing the same way he has played over the last 2 seasons, except that his shots aren't going in. If those catch-and-shoot 3's were dropping at the same percentage as the last 2 years, he'd be averaging an extra 2.7 points per game and his TS% would be .520 instead of the current .468. We'd all be saying Beal is playing fine except that hasn't yet adapted to the rule changes on drawing fouls.

[Frichuela]

I'm not sure if there's really anything different with the way Beal is playing. He just isn't making shots.

He is shooting 16.7% on 4.0 catch-and-shoot 3PA's per game.
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 38.4% on 4.1 catch-and-shoot 3PA's per game.

If we are assuming catch-and-shoot 3's are good shots, Beal is taking the exact same number of good shots as in previous seasons, but missing nearly all of them. Likewise, his percentage on 2PA's has fallen from 45% to 14.8%, but he doesn't really get many of those so it's not making that much of an impact.

He is shooting 29.2% of 4.0 pullup 3's off the dribble per game.
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 32% on 3.4 pull-up 3's

So he is forcing up a little bit more shots off the bounce, but not much, and his shooting percentage is mostly unchanged. (His attempts and percentages on pullup 2's are basically the same as the last 2 seasons.)

On drives, he is shooting 42.3% on 8.2 per game, with a TOV% of 8.9 and 2.3 FTA's
Over the last 2 seasons, he shot 53% of 8.0 drives per game with a TOV% of 6.3 and 3.3 FTA's

So again, his attempts are the same, but the results are worse.

Basically, in terms of his style of play, he looks pretty much the same as last year, except he's taking 1 extra pull-up 3 off the dribble every other game. But other than that, the issue is that his shots are falling, and his drives are resulting in slightly more turnovers and a lot fewer FTA's.

One can certainly argue that he needs to adapt the fact that he has better teammates and he is dealing with different rules, and I hope he will. But let's not act like Beal is playing unusually selfish basketball. He is playing the same way he has played over the last 2 seasons, except that his shots aren't going in. If those catch-and-shoot 3's were dropping at the same percentage as the last 2 years, he'd be averaging an extra 2.7 points per game and his TS% would be .520 instead of the current .468. We'd all be saying Beal is playing fine except that hasn't yet adapted to the rule changes on drawing fouls.

Good evidence here Nate.

I guess we should be grateful we are 5-2 despite Beal's struggles.

[tontoz]

Hadn't considered this:

After years of Spalding providing the NBA with its game balls, the league switched to Wilson. Wilson said they have tried to replicate the ball as well as possible, but players aren't buying it.

NBPA President C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers said, "We're all still adjusting to (the new ball)." McCollum later added that he planned to discuss with players around the league to "get feedback" on the ball.

Paul George of the LA Clippers was more direct in his criticism of the Wilson ball. George said he wouldn't use the ball as an excuse, but that "it's a different basketball. It doesn't have the same touch and softness that the Spalding ball had."

Many around the league have suggested that the new Wilson ball has been a factor in shooting percentages dropping around the league to open the 2021-22 season. Several star players have gotten off to rough starts, but none have directly blamed the ball for their early-season shooting challenges.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264606/NBA-Players-Struggling-To-Adjust-To-New-Wilson-Basketball

[keynote]

Hadn't considered this:

After years of Spalding providing the NBA with its game balls, the league switched to Wilson. Wilson said they have tried to replicate the ball as well as possible, but players aren't buying it.

NBPA President C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers said, "We're all still adjusting to (the new ball)." McCollum later added that he planned to discuss with players around the league to "get feedback" on the ball.

Paul George of the LA Clippers was more direct in his criticism of the Wilson ball. George said he wouldn't use the ball as an excuse, but that "it's a different basketball. It doesn't have the same touch and softness that the Spalding ball had."

Many around the league have suggested that the new Wilson ball has been a factor in shooting percentages dropping around the league to open the 2021-22 season. Several star players have gotten off to rough starts, but none have directly blamed the ball for their early-season shooting challenges.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264606/NBA-Players-Struggling-To-Adjust-To-New-Wilson-Basketball

As a reminder, Arenas (and several other stars) complained about the New Spalding ball in 2006; the league eventually reverted to the Spalding Classic ball later that season.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100898.html

[queridiculo]

Hadn't considered this:

After years of Spalding providing the NBA with its game balls, the league switched to Wilson. Wilson said they have tried to replicate the ball as well as possible, but players aren't buying it.

NBPA President C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers said, "We're all still adjusting to (the new ball)." McCollum later added that he planned to discuss with players around the league to "get feedback" on the ball.

Paul George of the LA Clippers was more direct in his criticism of the Wilson ball. George said he wouldn't use the ball as an excuse, but that "it's a different basketball. It doesn't have the same touch and softness that the Spalding ball had."

Many around the league have suggested that the new Wilson ball has been a factor in shooting percentages dropping around the league to open the 2021-22 season. Several star players have gotten off to rough starts, but none have directly blamed the ball for their early-season shooting challenges.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264606/NBA-Players-Struggling-To-Adjust-To-New-Wilson-Basketball

As a reminder, Arenas (and several other stars) complained about the New Spalding ball in 2006; the league eventually reverted to the Spalding Classic ball later that season.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100898.html

Yeah, I remember that debacle, people hated the pleather Spalding ball.

Since they changed brands there's obviously no way they're going to go back.

[dckingsfan]

TS has gone from .593 (last year) to 493. His long-term 3PT% keeps falling. Even his A/TO ration is off from last year.

One thing - he is putting a lot more effort on the defensive end of the court. Maybe play him less minutes? Possibly 30 vs. 36?

[FAH1223]

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[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

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[daSwami]

Make that 10 clutch turnovers. WTAF?