[ad_1]
There have been great players on bad teams before, but Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards are setting a new standard by combining brilliance and futility.
For the third time this season, Beal got over 40 points on Wednesday. Specifically, he scored 47 points on 17 of 37 shots with six assists, four rebounds, four steals and just three turnovers. It was a stellar game, for the NBA’s top scorer this season.
The Wizards lost another 18 points to the New Orleans Pelicans 6-10.
It might sound familiar if you’ve been following the Wizards for the past year or so, as it seems like no score from Beal is enough to steal a win. Three times in the past year, Beal has posted a career-best points-only record for his losing team, the most recent being when he scored a franchise record 60 points in a loss.
In fact, the Wizards have now lost 10 straight games in which Beal has scored 40 or more points, breaking a decades-old record held by Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy of the 1961-1962 Chicago Packers.
By @EliasSports: Bradley Beal has now lost 10 straight games where he has scored 40 or more points.
It is now the longest such streak in NBA history, dating back to last season.
Beal was tied at 9 games with Walt Bellamy.
– Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 28, 2021
Here’s what that statistic looks like in a screenshot:
All told, Beal is now averaging 36.8 points per game in Wizards losses and 30.7 in wins. Overall, he’s averaging 35.4 points per game among the NBA’s best for the 3-11 Wizards.
It was against this background that his wife, Kamiah Adams-Beal, tweeted this:
Beal himself didn’t seem very excited after the game either:
Bradley Beal when asked if he was frustrated: “Is the sky blue?”
– Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) January 28, 2021
Before you start photographing Beal in your favorite team uniform, be aware that Beal may have spoken about the wizards’ recent injury / COVID-19 situation and alludes to his desire to stay in town a few minutes earlier.
Wizards are in a bad place
In the Wizards’ defense, the loss was at least understandable despite Beal posting 47 points. Exhibit A: This injury / illness report.
For those of you scoring at home, this squad includes the Wizards’ starting point goalie, a small starting forward, forward starting power, a starting cross and a significant portion of the rotation of the team off the bench. Not all of these players were available due to the lingering effects of a COVID-19 outbreak, injury or, in Russell Westbrook’s case, rest. The two-week layoff due to said outbreak probably didn’t help players on the pitch either.
This kind of loss of personnel is how a player like Beal records a record 37 field goal attempts.
Beal hasn’t been perfect in terms of losses, even scoring in clusters, however. His points per game in losses are higher, but his rebounds per game, assists per game, turnovers per game, offensive score on the field, his defensive score on the field and his live shot percentage. all suffer comparatively, while its rate of use climbs. Essentially, the Wizards seem to turn to Beal over and over when things aren’t working out elsewhere, which they often are.
The possibility of a trade with Beal has arisen over the past few years, and the Wizards haven’t done much to change it, even though Beal plays some of the best basketball of his life and insists on it. fact that he wants to win in DC.
Wednesday will only spark a new round of speculation.
Learn more about Yahoo Sports:
[ad_2]
Source link