Washington Wizards: 5 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season

3. Bradley Beal averages at least six assists per game

The Washington Wizards were short on ball distributors last season. John Wall led the team in assists with 10.7 per contest. In fact, the Wizards ranked in sixth as a team last season in assists per game (23.9).

However, without Wall on the floor, the team became an odd group. It wasn’t until they acquired Brandon Jennings late in the season that they truly got another ball distributor. Even then, Jennings only played 23 regular season games with the team, averaging 4.7 assists in the regular season.

Beal was the volume shooter while Wall took care of the distributing. However, that all needs to change in 2017-18 and it starts with Beal averaging at least six assists per game.

Beal averaged 3.5 assists per game as the Wizards off-guard. It’s not a terrible statistic until you look at Wall’s numbers. Granted, Wall is a point guard and is supposed to pass first, ranking third in the NBA with 19.5 potential assists per game.

Beal, on the other hand, averaged 6.4 potential assists per game. As much as he will handle the ball next season, he has to look to get others involved, such as Porter, Morris or Gortat.