Bradley Beal, a defensive player for the Phoenix Suns, saying, “Someone has to do it.”
Beal laughed and remarked, “If I had been hit in the nose, I would have walked my ass right to the hospital.” “Just go ahead and finish this surgery.”
By defending the best perimeter player on the other side, Beal has been putting himself squarely in the midst of their offensive schemes. The Phoenix Suns’ victories in their last two games have been significantly influenced by this strategy. He spearheaded the group’s effort to hold Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers, an All-Star, to six points on 3-of-13 shooting (0-of-4 on threes) on Wednesday.
The following evening, Beal had the task of covering Murray as Trae Young, an All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks, was out by injury. Murray attempted to score 29 points, but in Phoenix’s 128-115 victory, he took 26 shots (made 11), with Beal guarding him for the most part of the game.
“It needs to be done by someone,” Beal remarked. “Over the past two games, I’ve kind of changed my perspective. Although I’ve been concerned about our defensive efforts, the offense will be present. putting an end to opponents and only having an effect in that regard.
Prior to the Suns’ five-game road trip that starts on Saturday in San Antonio (15-54), Beal is putting in the greatest sacrifices of the Big 3 players due to his increased defensive intensity and increased role as a point guard.
With Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal in the starting lineup, the Suns (41-29) are 18-11.
Suns coach Frank Vogel stated, “Brad is really sacrificing for the betterment of this team.” “I believe it is important to note. He was a point guard. He is not always searching for his shot; rather, he is touching the paint as often as he is touching it. On Thursday night against Atlanta, he attempted seven shots and was undoubtedly our most effective offensive player, setting up opportunities for others.”
Beal locating partners for threes
In the victory on Thursday, Phoenix scorched Atlanta with a season-high 22 3-pointers, six of which came off of Beal’s assists. In the last minute of the game, Beal, who finished with a team-high nine points for the Hawks, found Booker on his final two three-pointers to seal the victory.
“The ball has been hopping and it’s just been great energy these last two games,” said Booker, who shot 6-of-8 from three-point range on Thursday to score a game-high 30 points. “We get better energy and shots the more passes we get and the more swings we get.”
Two of Royce O’Neale’s four 3-pointers came from Beal’s assists, and Durant and Eric Gordon each scored one after Beal’s pass. Gordon finished the game with four made threes, and Durant made two.
Regarding Beal, Vogel continued, “was a plus-17 overall and he guarded Dejounte Murray, primarily.” He performed it on consecutive evenings. It is impossible to express how excellent Bradley Beal is at his work.
The Suns’ issue is not with scoring. With 117.1 points per game and an eighth-best offensive rating, they rank 10th in the NBA. Stopping groups is a different story. They finished a four-game road trip with a 140-129 loss at Milwaukee on Sunday, despite being 16th in points allowed (114.4) and 13th in defensive rating. They also gave up 82 points in the first half of the game.
Since then, the Suns have lost their last two games by an average of 108.5 points, ranking seventh in defensive rating as a result of Beal adopting a more defensive mindset.
“We must commit ourselves fully to defense.”
Beal stated, “It’s been kind of my focus the last two games.” It is undoubtedly an adjustment. It appears that I’m not as combative. I’m still involved and in the game, but our focus needs to be on defense. Even when we score 120 points a night, our defense needs to get better.
Despite only scoring three points on one of his six shots against the 76ers, Beal—a proven scorer who averaged over thirty points per game in back-to-back seasons as a star for Washington—posted seven assists, six rebounds, and spearheaded a team defensive effort against Maxey, who was 20 points below his career-high season average.
“He performed a fantastic job as the guy at the point of attack,” Vogel remarked. “We watched him come on Damian Lillard the other night and perform admirably in the second half. We started Brad on Maxey early because we had Grayson (Allen) on him early. Brad did a terrific job, and our big men did a tremendous job of simply staying up in all of his pick-and-rolls and not letting him get comfortable after shooting threes.
Although Beal isn’t well-known for his defensive ability, he can play physically and generate steals and deflections. Standing 6-3 and weighing 207 pounds, he guarded the Thanos-built Zion Williamson as well as anybody could have on January 19, when Phoenix defeated New Orleans.
While Beal ended with seven boards, six on the defensive end, and 24 points, Williamson only managed three rebounds, just one of which came from the offensive glass.
Compared to Williamson, Beal is at least 70 pounds lighter and three inches shorter.
“We played our best defensive game of the season from beginning to end,” Vogel remarked following the 123-109 triumph in New Orleans back in January. “The guys were genuinely confined.”