It is no great secret that Bradley Beal has a severe lack of help in his role as the lone star for a tumultuous Washington franchise. But what has not been so widely spread is that Beal might be part of the problem.
Now, in no way does this mean that Beal is a bad player, as he certainly isn’t. Rather, he is a great player who is being criminally overused.
The Wizards offense is clearly at it's best when the ball is moving, using ball speed to create openings in the defense. This has resulted in them having the 10th best offense in the league. But, for some reason, when Beal is on the floor, they overfeed him.
For context, when Beal is on the floor, the team is 9.8 points worse per 100 possessions than when he is off it. Mind you, the offensive rating is still 4.6 points better per 100.
The real issue is, it could be so much more. Last season, for example, the team was 6.3 points better offensively when he was playing. But, this could just be a result of him having poor teammates, right?
Well, maybe, but more than likely not. For example, his True Shooting Percentage has dropped to 55.4% from 58.1%, his turnovers up to 3.3 from 2.7. He is only hitting on 31.5% of his threes.
And if that still isn’t enough evidence that he is being over fed, consider his defense. Last year, he was a mediocre defender, no more, no less. But with this increased workload, his team is suddenly 14.3 points worse per 100 on defense with him on the floor. Comparing that number to notably bad defenders in Trae Young, Devin Booker and Collin Sexton and he is still 5.3 points worse than any of them.
This is all because of workload. He exerts so much energy offensively that his slackness defensively should not come as a surprise.
Washington have so many great scorers, it’s time for them to get more of a chance. Please, give Bradley Beal a break.