With 5:56 to play in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs, the substitution horn sounded. Rasual Butler walked on to the floor and Bradley Beal walked off.
Just two days prior in Atlanta, Beal was on the floor until 1:58 remained in the first quarter. The game before, he was subbed out with 32 seconds to play in the first.
Tuesday’s move to take out Beal early was a shift in strategy from coach Randy Wittman. His second unit had been floundering, which left him searching for in-house options to bolster its scoring and impact. Beal was the answer, though he didn’t know prior to the game that he would be.
“He kind of caught me off balance,” Beal said of Tuesday’s game. “He said ‘I’m about to take you out pretty soon so be ready. Don’t be off balance or take it personal or anything like that.’ I understood right away what he was doing and giving the second group a little bit of an uplift.”
Beal also started the fourth quarter Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls with the second group. He’s playing with Andre Miller in the backcourt, but often has brought the ball up the floor when he’s mixed with the other bench players. Beal’s role is multifaceted when he plays with the non-starters.
“[Wittman] wants me to play 1 through 5,” Beal joked of his responsibilities. “He wants me to just be aggressive and take what the defense gives me whether that’s passing the ball, scoring the ball, whatever it may be. Just give that group a big lift.”
Beal logged heavy minutes in each game, playing 37 and 36 minutes, respectively. His minutes have gradually increased as the season has progressed. In November, when first returning from a wrist injury, Beal played 31.5 minutes per game. His minutes rose to 33.6 per game in December. In January, he is playing 35 minutes per game, second only to John Wall, who is playing 35.3 minutes.
Moving Beal to play more with the “bench mob” also helped produce back-to-back wins against teams with records above .500 for the first time this season. The Wizards beat San Antonio, 101-93, at home Tuesday before beating the Bulls, 105-99, in Chicago on Wednesday.
In each game, the entire Wizards’ rotation shrunk. Against the Spurs, Washington’s rotation was mainly eight players. Ten made it onto the floor, but Miller, who played 12 minutes, and Martell Webster, who saw eight, played an inconsequential amount. Against Chicago, the starters took even more of the load. Each played at least 30 minutes. Paul Pierce played 32 minutes for the first time since Dec. 19 and more than 30 minutes for only the third time in the last five weeks. To top it off, he did it on the second night of a back-to-back.
Using Beal in this manner, as the Wizards did at times last year during the regular season and playoffs, has jettisoned Otto Porter out of the rotation. The second-year forward had a solid start to the season. Since, his playing time has dwindled as have his numbers. Porter has played 16 minutes in the last four games combined. Three times in January he has not appeared in a game because of Wittman’s decision.
Whether Webster can work himself back into competitive shape will influence the need to keep Beal with the second unit. Since returning to the floor Jan. 2 after offseason back surgery, Webster has been ineffective. He’s shooting just 15.4 percent and is 2-for-13 from the field. Only one of his five 3-point attempts has gone down.
For now, the weight will be on Beal.
“It worked, so can’t complain at all,” Beal said.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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