Beal and Flash

[rserina]

Fun piece on Beal from the Washington Post:

Martell Webster wondered if Beal’s pre-draft comparisons were a bit off-base.

“He says he wants to compare himself to Ray Allen, but he has a little more flash than Ray Allen,” Webster said. “I’d say he has a little of The Flash – [Dwyane] Wade – in him.”

Beal is certainly closer in height to Wade than Allen. He is also crafty and has deceptive speed, though nothing close to the way Wade blazed across the floor early in his career...

“He can slash, put it on the floor, and make contact,” Webster said. “That’s big. When you can establish yourself at the free throw line, seven, eight times a game, that’s a big difference. He’s got it. He’s still a rookie. He’s learning the basics. If he keeps watching the players that he admires, take little bits and add them to himself, he’ll be a star in this league.”

[jeffphillips21]

good find. I've always thought the same thing. His fluidity and of course his size are definitely D-Wade-like. I think he has real star potential too...and a great worth ethic to make it happen

[yellowboy90]

I was thinking the same thing but then again the young Ray could slash too. I watched their preseason game against the Knicks and he looked good(15-5-5). I think they are working on him initiating the offense. I think they want Beal to be their Harden and Wall to be their Westbrook.

[rserina]

Wade is a freak with his wingspan, athleticism, and strength, so I don't know if Beal can do what he has. But he is far more than a shooter, as many (including some scouts) suggested heading up to the draft. He can be a 20-point scorer in the league on a good team.

[StrangeGator]

Brad is smarter and more disciplined than Wade and he's much more mature at this point in his career. I don't know if he will be as complete a player, but I expect him to be more of a team player and leader.

[gatordee]

Wish he was still here.

[GatorInSC]

Wish he was still here.

Imagine a junior beal with the 2013 recruiting class plus the 2 transfers

[swampgas44]

I was thinking the same thing but then again the young Ray could slash too. I watched their preseason game against the Knicks and he looked good(15-5-5). I think they are working on him initiating the offense. I think they want Beal to be their Harden and Wall to be their Westbrook.

The 15-5-5 was in approx two quarters of play. Washington has a bunch of bad shot takers that rarely pass to the open man. Watching them play I would say that Bradley has the most court sense and understands the game much better than most of his teammates. Hopeully that will change when Wall comes back from injury.

[rserina]

Brad is smarter and more disciplined than Wade and he's much more mature at this point in his career. I don't know if he will be as complete a player, but I expect him to be more of a team player and leader.
I don't know. I have never thought of Wade as lacking court smarts or playing out of control. He usually plays within himself and doesn't take shots out of his range. As I recall, they moved him to the one as a rookie and he was pretty darn effective there, despite obviously being out of position, and that takes some smarts. Nor have I ever thought of Wade as not being a "team player" or not being a "leader." He is a terrible perimeter shooter, he is somewhat injury prone, he is sort of a three trapped in a one's body, and he bitches and moans too much about the officiating, but those are seemingly the only chinks in his armor. He is great in the paint and out to 20-feet, he is one of the best finishers ever, he rebounds his position and passers decently for a scorer, he defends well on and off the ball (or at least he used to) and has always been a great help defender, and he is huge in the clutch.

But Beal has a pretty high ceiling, too. He is a much, much better shooter than Wade already, both off the bounce and in catch and shoot situations. He rebounds and defends as well as Wade did at this stage in his career. His mid range game is comparable to Wade's entering the league, he obviously lacks that sick length and athleticism that enables Wade to finish so well around the rim. I also haven't seen great vision passing the ball, though I thought he did initiate the half court offense very well for us late last season and I suspect you can run things through him a little.

Regardless, the single greatest determiner of Beal's immediate impact will be the point guard he plays with. It can be hard for a scoring two to play next to a ball dominating one. That's one of the reasons I think that Hardin and Ginobli have been so effective off the bench in recent years. The more Wall become a distributor again and the less he tries to be a Kobe clone, the better chance for Beal to develop his offensive game. But in all honesty I would much rather see him come off the bench if Webster is healthy. That way Webster can play to his strengths (parking on the wing, spacing the floor with his catch and shoot game) with Wall dominating the ball, then Beal entering with the second unit next to a smarter, less ball-needy one in Pargo, allowing the offense to run through the two a bit against other second units.

[NorthCaptivaGator]

Brad is smarter and more disciplined than Wade and he's much more mature at this point in his career. I don't know if he will be as complete a player, but I expect him to be more of a team player and leader.

rserna beat me to most of this but, wow, I don't know how you garner this from one season of college ball, Wade is one hell of a player and no one finishes better, especially no one 6'3", Beal plays a bit bigger, a bit taller than Wade but Wade can fly and is a great off the ball defender, I doubt you will find any guard who blocks more shots than Wade and though a lot of that is just freak athletic ability a lot is also basketball smarts, he reads the lanes great and his knowledge of player tendencies allows him to time his shot blocks like no one else. Beal is a better shooter, has a much prettier stroke but Wade has worked and improved in this area as he has gotten older, neither has been great from the free throw line, not bad but not great either. Beal is maybe a combination of Wade and Ray Allen, not quite as good a shooter as Ray and not quite as good of a handle or finish as Wade but better than either of them at both- maybe a little more like Paul Pierce?