It was in thoseplayoffs, however, that Beal took his game to a new level.I wrote about Beal heading into last season and compared his stats with and without John Wall on the floor.I basically contended that Beal would have a breakout season in year two because a) he has the tools and b) he would have a fit and firing Wall.That came into fruition; he averaged 17.1 points, shot better from the floor and even became a better playmaker.What we saw from Beal in the playoffs, however, was more than just a 20-year-old showing some progression.He was actually elite.He got to the line more, increased his shooting percentage, averaged 19.2 points, dished out4.5assists and gave Wall a chop out with his playmaking.Heading into year two, it was easy for the casual NBA fan to see Beal as a nice spot-up shooter who had the tools to become a good passer.At the conclusion of the Wizards, 2013-14 playoff run, it,s become apparent that he had a number of High quality of Lebron 12 for sale Online is a good thing.Ball handlingBeal has gradually added more ball handling into his repetoire.This hasn,t been easy, there,s been some serious bumps along the way.Coach Randy Wittman elected to use him as the primary ball handler in pick-and-rolls a lot more during the course of the regular season.The aim was to allow Beal to create his own offence more in his sophomore season, rather than running off the ball all the time.Some of these stats will show the difference in Beal,s production.In his rookie season, 16.5 percent of Beal,s play was as the pick-and-roll ball handler, while 18.2 percent came running off screens.In his second season, 25 percent of his possessions came as the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations.Sure, this led to some yucky mid range shots and a few more turnovers.He Nike Free 4.0 Flyknit through inefficient slumps, shooting below 40 percent in March.It was a learning curve for a young player.A lot of the pick-and-roll sets used with Beal as the primary ball handler often ended in him curling towards a tough mid range jumper. 519 of his 1149 field goal attempts during the regular season were midrange jumpers, but that,s the way the Wizards play.A lot of defences are happy to give up those inefficient long two-pointers in order to have coverage in the corners.The best teams in the NBA guard the three-point line well.The Wizards are happy to take what,s on offer.The PlayoffsThe stiff learning curve and the small struggles he faced in the regular season dissipated by the time the playoffs came round.Beal was guilty in the regular season of just taking the first shot he,d see when coming out of a pick.During the playoffs, particularly against the Pacers, Beal was taking his time and making the right plays.Either taking the best shot available in rhythm or making nice passes to his big men if he,strapped coming out.The great aspect of Beal,s enhanced play was that he was able to carry the load when Wall sat.Beal would generally get a rest late in the first quarter and the Wizards would have Wall, Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster together.Then Wall would sit at the beginning of the second period and you,d have an Andre Miller, Beal and Webster trio.There was always two guys capable of spacing the floor, no matter what trio they ran with.Next season it,ll be Paul Pierce filling the void left by Ariza. A handy replacement.The detractors may argue that Beal,s playmaking got in the way of his strengths; his ability to spot up.Even with the increased ball handling in the playoffs and added responsibility, Beal only attempted one fewer spot-up field goal attempt per game in the playoffs.That,s what happens when you play alongside Wall.Beal can still get a lot of his possessions running off the ball, coming off screens etc when Wall shares the floor.He can also create his own offence when Wall takes a breather.The addition of Pierce gives them another player who can space the floor, create his own shot and play inside and out.Young players always face hurdles when they enter the league.For Beal,s development, it was great to see that the Wizards were willing to sacrifice overall results in order to see a bright young star add more strings to his bow.