Better offensively surrounded, Bradley Beal can raise his voice in defense | NBA
Since the start of the season, Bradley Beal has insisted on his desire to defend. If he is still far from being one of the best defenders in the league, he sometimes goes up a notch in certain sequences, which he did not always do in the past.
The evidence against the Bucks. In the second quarter, Milwaukee is out of possession and the ball reaches Grayson Allen. Bradley Beal changes to face the back and puts pressure on him. He’s on the verge of stealing the ball from her. The Bucks player must step back to recover the swelling and Bradley Beal continues his effort to the end, away from the circle and near the sideline. End of 24 seconds, ball recovered by the Wizards and explosion of joy between the player from the capital and his coach.
» It’s awesome « , says Wes Unseld Jr, of this moment, for The Athletic. “It really is, because I think he decided to take on. No doubt he was criticized for not defending during his career. He can do it, with his size and power. We’re starting to see it more and more. So I love the fact that he’s touched by it, that he’s proud to defend. »
For Spencer Dinwiddie, this kind of action has a definite impact on a group. “Every time a star makes a big effort, it’s important for the team. He gave everything and that inspires us to do the same. «
« It is incredible as a feeling to know that I have veterans to conclude and win the match »
And if Bradley Beal can give as much in defense, as on such a sequence, it is also because in attack, he is better surrounded. With Dinwiddie, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma around him, the All-Star no longer has to score 35 or 40 points for the Wizards to exist in big games.
« It feels good not having to do everything », he explains, after having still registered 30 points to 14/22 in the shoot against the reigning champions. “I can really focus on other areas, like defense. It’s amazing how it feels to know that I have veterans to finish and win the game. They are prepared, they know what to do. «
Without forgetting that with a coach who congratulates his player in the middle of a match after his successful defensive action, Bradley Beal feels carried. Especially in a meeting that looked like « A playoff match » according to him.
“Coach Wes is relaxed. He doesn’t get carried away. But he is involved and this action aroused excitement on his part ”, rejoices the second leading scorer of last season. « He pushes me, I can hear him yelling at me and that motivates me. » We love having a coach like that. «
| Bradley Beal | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2012-13 | WAS | 56 | 31 | 41.0 | 38.6 | 78.6 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 13.9 |
| 2013-14 | WAS | 73 | 35 | 41.9 | 40.2 | 78.8 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 17.1 |
| 2014-15 | WAS | 63 | 34 | 42.7 | 40.9 | 78.3 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 15.3 |
| 2015-16 | WAS | 55 | 31 | 44.9 | 38.7 | 76.7 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 17.4 |
| 2016-17 | WAS | 77 | 35 | 48.2 | 40.4 | 82.5 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 23.1 |
| 2017-18 | WAS | 82 | 36 | 46.0 | 37.5 | 79.1 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 22.7 |
| 2018-19 | WAS | 82 | 37 | 47.5 | 35.1 | 80.8 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 25.6 |
| 2019-20 | WAS | 57 | 36 | 45.5 | 35.3 | 84.2 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 30.5 |
| 2020-21 | WAS | 60 | 36 | 48.5 | 34.9 | 88.9 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 31.3 |
| 2021-22 | WAS | 8 | 36 | 40.0 | 23.2 | 100.0 | 0.9 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 23.5 |
| Total | 613 | 35 | 45.6 | 37.4 | 82.3 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 22.0 | |
