When they’re on, John Wall and Bradley Beal still make up the best backcourt in the Eastern Conference. They showed us exactly that in Game 3, leading the Washington Wizards to a 122-103 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday and cutting into the series deficit, where the Raptors still lead two games to one.
John Wall and Bradley Beal kept the Wizards alive with great Game 3s
The Washington guards reminded everyone how good they are.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Wall finished with 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting, dishing 14 assists and racking up four steals while only turning the ball over three times. Beal also dropped a 28-point game, doing in with 10-of-19 shooting from the field and four triples, as well as four assists and three steals. He was also a game-high plus-19.
It’s clear that Washington isn’t an average No. 8 seed. Inconsistent play sunk the Wizards late, but their real slide came from a injury-plagued season from Wall, who only suited up for 41 games this year. They wouldn’t be favored against Toronto no matter the seeding this season, but we wondered if the Raptors might struggle to retire them due to their playoff pedigree.
That playoff pedigree mostly comes from Wall and Beal, who famously step up in postseason situations. Last season, Wall averaged 27 and 10 in his two playoff seasons, including this stone-cold shot to force a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
Wall did struggle in that Game 7 and Boston lost, but Beal scored 38 points, a testament to his own elevated play. He has averaged 22 postseason points throughout his career, albeit on slightly lower efficiency than his typical regular season stats. Still, watch enough of the Wall-and-Beal backcourt and you’ll see they have often stepped up in situations where they’re needed.
Does Washington have any chance in this series?
If the Wizards can take Game 4, too, then this question becomes much more interesting. The Wall-and-Beal duo wasn’t great in Game 1, but they played better in Game 2 before their dueling 28-point games on Friday. If Washington has any chance, they’ll need more games like this from those two.
Washington’s supporting cast probably doesn’t have enough to truly keep them in this, and that’s where any thoughts of a Wizards comeback goes to die. They’re playing people like Mike Scott and Kelly Oubre Jr. in crunch time situations, and no one will be surprised when that backfires.
But especially after this win, the Wizards feel more like a second round opponent challenging Toronto’s high seed, rather than a No. 8 seed. You can thank Wall and Beal for that.
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