3 goals for Bradley Beal for the 2024-25 NBA season
2. Learn to play off the ball
Beal is most comfortable playing basketball if the ball is in his hands. However, we've seen that that hasn't been the most effective way of playing competitive basketball. With the Wizards, he averaged at least 30 points twice. But that resulted in only one playoff appearance and Washington was eliminated in the first round.
Offensively, Beal is a threat. He's a three-level scorer and can get the team going once he gets his rhythm. With the Suns, he now has to share the ball. And with two other ball-dominant stars, who are far healthier and efficient, he has to learn how to be a threat without the ball.
On and off the ball, Bradley Beal opened up the floor in his Suns debut. The game itself wasn't pretty, but I wrote about a few examples of how he'll force opponents to pick their poison: https://t.co/NSgIoEX7Ct pic.twitter.com/P4cfIMcWil
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 9, 2023
Last season, fans watched the Big 3 take turns running the offense and it wasn't a delightful sight.
In their second run as a star trio, one has to learn to be a threat off the ball. The way I see it, Beal should be the one to do most of the off-ball running to draw defenses. Championship teams like the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have maximized their stars by using them as off-ball decoys. The Suns have three elite offensive weapons and could make use of this approach for a chance to win a title next season.