Did we get, the true Beal ….
By I.J. Hamilton @sirhammo @sunsplanetpod @asaparizona
15-05-2024
When Bradley Beal came across to the Phoenix Suns, I was perplexed. How are these 3 big scorers (Booker, KD & Beal), going to work together? Holy shit…. Imagine if they did? Well, they didn’t… kind of.
We all agree this last season was a letdown. It’s very easy to put the blame and say this was the problem that was the problem. Let’s just have a look Bradley Beal for now.
I was really hoping Beal would be our primary ball-handler and run a lot of the offense. We can argue reasons for or against this and why and why not it worked. Here is what we do know:
Games Played –
Out of the 12 seasons Beal has had in the NBA, this current season with the Suns (He played a total of 53 games and started all 53 of them) only 2 seasons of Beals career has played less games. 2021-2022 played 40 games for the Wizards. 2022-2023 he played 50 Games also for the Wizards. So, looking at that he really didn’t have anywhere near as much time on the court as he has in the past. Twice playing all 82 regular season games in his career. However, this is a major factor in my overall analysis.
Shooting % –
Obviously, games played/time on the court is a factor here but anyway. Beals FG% for this season was 51.3%. The Highest of his career. 3PT% was 43.0% another career high. Other stats jump up and down through out his career. Given the fact we know that the Coach Vogels system wasn’t working for any of the players, how much was Beal being held back? Was he being held back?
Cohesion –
As a player for the suns, I seen some very bright sparks from Beal. Is he our primary ball handler? Probably not. Is he going to be our first scoring option? Probably not. Should he come of the bench and ignite the 2nd team? Probably not but jeez I am willing to give it a go. It’s been working for Russell Westbrook.
Concerns –
Like most of the Big 3’s issues this season, it comes down to coaching and rotations. Beal was lost a lot of the time. We have seen the opposition defence on more than one occasion drive us into iso-ball. We had no answer when they did. The only bright spots where when our players decided to “steal the keys” and go into business for themselves. It seemed to work when Beal was being natural… otherwise he seemed almost to be scared to go against the assigned play. To go against what Coach was calling for. Is Vogel that scary? Lol. His Contract with the NTC is a problem. A problem for another article.
Analysis –
Now that Frank Vogel is out, and Coach Mike Budenholzer is in. I expect to see a very different Bradley Beal come next season. Coach Budz will push him to be the best that he can be. Coach has a talent for that, and Bradley Beal has the talent to match our expectations. Beal is an A+ teammate too. He is always courtside, cheering the guys on when he is not playing. He’s a nice guy.
Looking forward to the REAL “Real Deal Beal” this coming season.
