The Washington Wizards have had plenty of struggles this season, primarily on the offensive end.
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Point guard John Wall has had to do everything for this team, as the rest of the starting lineup as well as major contributors off the bench have taken turns going down to injuries, some more serious than others.
The most prominent player to be affected by nagging injuries for the Wizards this season has been shooting guard Bradley Beal, who’s already missed 18 games for Washington this season.
Beal was able to come back from his previous troubles, but has now run into a new issue, as he sprained his ankle Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers and may miss more time, something the Wizards simply cannot afford right now as they look to make a playoff push in the Eastern Conference.
Beal is arguably the team’s most important player outside of Wall because of what he does to create space and easy shots for his teammates without constantly moving the ball.
Being one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA, Beal’s ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor really helps the Wizards’ spacing. Wall is a guard who’s most effective penetrating the lane and creating for others, while bigs Nene and Marcin Gortat take up enough space inside as it is because of their comfortability scoring near the basket.
With three of the team’s five starters having to be closer to the basket in order to play their best basketball, having a dead-eye shooter like Beal helps the team tremendously because he gives those players more room to operate and contribute to the offense their own way.
Forward Paul Pierce has been a good three-point shooter throughout his career, but really hasn’t been as big of a force for the Wizards as he has been in year’s past, particularly shooting the basketball from range. Pierce has been better scoring in the mid-range this season or converting on easy dump-off passes inside from Wall or one of the other point guards.
If Pierce can hit three-pointers with consistency, then that makes everyone’s job easier. However, if he can’t, then the deep shooting is put solely on Beal’s shoulders, mounting the pressure on him to come through and really be an offensive juggernaut for a team that’s been one of the lowest scoring teams overall in the league this season.
Not only is Beal a fantastic shooter from the outside, but he too can score in a variety of ways, and he isn’t afraid to take and make the big shots near the end of games.
Wiz of Awes
Losing a player like that who has all of the skills and intangibles a coach would want in a shooting guard is devastating, especially for a team that was looked at before the season started as a team that could potentially challenge for the crown in the East.
Nowadays, the Wizards are slowly regressing to the level of mediocrity that they were for a number of seasons before they started to turn a lot around with Wall at the helm.
Missing Beal means this team may keep sliding and end up in a spot in the playoffs that they really weren’t expecting to be in.
Without Beal, it’s tough to imagine that the Wizards are going to put enough points on the board to win a series in seven games, let alone four or five at full strength.
Here’s to Beal making a speedy recovery both from his teammates and myself.
Next: Does Beal Make Wizards Title Contenders?
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