Wizards' Bradley Beal: 'Nobody can stop me'
Washington guard Bradley Beal sure seems confident.
Bradley Beal is about to break out. The Washington Wizards guard saw his numbers dip a bit during last year's regular season, but he raised his game in the playoffs and looks like an even better player this season. He's always been better when he's been more assertive, and he's now looking for 3-point shots rather than long 2s. After scoring 14 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter of Washington's 118-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, he described his mentality succinctly.
"Nobody can stop me," he told CSN Washington. "It's plain and simple."
The Wizards trailed 92-79 heading into the fourth quarter against the Bucks. That's when Beal took over, and then John Wall sealed the deal with a crazy 3-pointer off the dribble.
"We have to carry this team," Beal said. "John and I looked at each other again and said, 'Let's take over this game.' And that's what we did."
The "again" refers to how the season opener ended. In the last seven minutes against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, Beal and Wall scored seven points apiece. Washington was down by eight points at the start of the run, and it ended up with a one-point win. The Wizards are 2-0, but they would be 0-2 if not for these late-game heroics.
Washington forward Jared Dudley said that Wall is the team's best player, but Beal is its best scorer. That's an interesting distinction to make, considering Wall is pretty much unstoppable. Clearly, though, Beal is trying to approach each game with the confidence necessary to be an elite player.
The seeds of this were evident in last year's playoffs. Perhaps due to the influence of Paul Pierce, his attitude changed. Memorably, he waved goodbye to Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry in the first round and talked a little trash, too. In the second round against the Atlanta Hawks, he averaged 25.2 points in six games. This version of Beal might look more explosive, but he's essentially picking up where he left off.
With the Wizards pushing the pace and spreading the floor, the system finally suits Beal. This is what they envisioned when they drafted him, and an All-Star appearance could be coming if he continues this sort of scoring.
