(Photo: Washington Wizards)
There is no sugar coating it, Bradley Beal did not have a good four-game stretch prior to the Portland game. Against Minnesota, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Utah, Beal had 50 points on 16 of 49 shooting (32.7 percent). Since the three-game stretch to start November when Beal had 35+ points against Phoenix, Cleveland, and Toronto, the shooting guard had not reached the 28-point mark despite playing in 14 games.
Then the slump came to a complete halt, at least for one game, as Beal put together his best scoring performance in his six-year NBA career. Beal became the ninth player in Wizards team history to reach the half century mark, was one bucket short of tying the franchise record for most field goals made in a game behind Phil Chenier and Walt Bellamy's 22, and became just the fourth player to score 50 or more points when making 5 or fewer three-pointers and attempting 5 or fewer free throws (Michael Jordan, Alex English, and Antwan Jamison).
“I kind of came into the game with the mindset of being aggressive from start to finish, especially coming off of the game [Monday] night and the way I’ve played over the previous four or five games,” Beal said after the game. “I wasn’t happy with it so I was more focused, more locked in and was thinking way too much [previously]. [Tuesday] I was just playing and having fun, ultimately, and I kind of knew at halftime that it going to be a good one but I didn’t think I’d get 50 points.”
For the first time since getting elbowed in the face by Jerryd Bayless, Beal did not start the game with a pair of protective tinted goggles. In the previous two games, while wearing them, Beal was a combined 3 of 13 from the field before eventually ditching them midway through the game in frustration. Scott Brooks also did not force Beal into a situation where he was the only ball handler on the court as he had previously with John Wall (sore left knee) sidelined.
“I was thinking way too much,” Beal said. “I was trying to think about plays and get guys shots, to get them easy ones, and I was myself trying to make every play and I can’t make every play. That’s something I learned and that’s something that I have to continue to be better at and play my game I play. My game is to be aggressive, look to score and if the defense closes on me then make the right play at the end of the day so that’s what I did [Tuesday].”
It is clear that Beal has become more than just a shooter in the NBA with his diversified offensive skill set that he has been working on with skills trainer Drew Hanlen during the off-season. That was on full display in Portland as he scored a variety of different ways. Beal had 15 points via the three ball, 4 points via the charity stripe, and a whopping 32 points inside the arc. Of those 32, 12 came around the rim, 14 were off of mid-range jump shots (6 of them being thanks to step back moves), and the remaining 6 came off of floaters. In a near even split between isolation and team scoring, Beal had 26 points on his own doing and 25 points via assisted passes and/or screen assists. His full scoring plays are listed below:
First Quarter (12 points)
2' Driving Layup (2 PTS)
19' Pullup Jump Shot (4 PTS)
3' Cutting Layup Shot (6 PTS) (Gortat 1 AST)
Free Throw 1 of 2 (7 PTS)
Free Throw 2 of 2 (8 PTS)
2' Driving Floating Bank Jump Shot (10 PTS)
11' Driving Floating Bank Jump Shot (12 PTS)
Second Quarter (7 points)
16' Jump Shot (14 PTS)
2' Driving Floating Bank Jump Shot (16 PTS)
27' 3PT Jump Shot (19 PTS) (Frazier 1 AST)
Third Quarter (19 points)
1' Driving Layup (21 PTS)
26' 3PT Jump Shot (24 PTS) (Gortat 5 AST)
20' Pullup Jump Shot (26 PTS) (Gortat 6 AST)
13' Driving Floating Jump Shot (28 PTS)
23' 3PT Jump Shot (31 PTS) (Frazier 3 AST)
11' Driving Layup (33 PTS) (Porter Jr. 1 AST)
Free Throw 1 of 1 (34 PTS)
21' Step Back Jump Shot (36 PTS)
17' Step Back Jump Shot (38 PTS)
Fourth Quarter (13 points)
14' Step Back Bank Jump Shot (40 PTS)
27' 3PT Jump Shot (43 PTS) (Scott 1 AST)
11' Driving Floating Jump Shot (45 PTS)
Free Throw 1 of 2 (46 PTS)
25' 3PT Pullup Jump Shot (49 PTS)
2' Dunk (51 PTS) (Oubre Jr. 2 AST)