Wizards finding their stride without Beal in lineup

A week ago, it felt like the wheels were already falling off for the Washington Wizards.

The team had just suffered its worst home loss in Wizards franchise history with a 42-point clobbering at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets. Then, two days later, Bradley Beal was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol, and Washington lost for the fifth time in six games to fall to 4-6. 

Turns out, all the Wizards needed to get back on track was to be without their $250 million superstar for a week. The Wizards have won four straight without Beal — the team’s longest winning streak since November 2021 — as his sidekicks, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma, have led the way. 

The most impressive part of the winning streak is that it came during the most difficult stretch of Washington’s schedule thus far. After a victory over a Charlotte squad that resides in the Eastern Conference cellar, the next three triumphs came against three of the best teams in the Western Conference — Dallas, Utah and Memphis. Those three squads all finished top five in the West last season. 

The best win came against the Mavericks on Thursday. Porzingis was also missing due to a minor groin strain, and Kuzma carried the Wizards to victory with a 36-point, 11-rebound performance. The 27-year-old forward was 14-of-26 from the field and knocked down five 3-pointers. It was Kuzma’s first time scoring over 30 points this season and tied the most he’s scored as a Wizard. 

“I’ve been telling the coaching staff all year just to run the offense through me,” Kuzma, who also scored 20-plus points in the wins over Charlotte and Utah, told NBC Sports Washington on Thursday. “This was the game to do it, look what happened.”

Porzingis, meanwhile, scored 31 points, snatched 10 boards and drilled four 3-pointers in the win over the Jazz two days later. He then followed that up with a 25-point performance (with six 3s) in the win over the Grizzlies Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back to improve Washington to 8-6. 

The oft-injured 27-year-old big man is averaging 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. His 48.9% field goal percentage is a career-high, and his 38.7% rate from behind the arc is his best since 2017-18. 

“I think we were better at making that extra pass, that extra play for a teammate,” Porzingis told reporters. “It’s starting to click a little bit.”

It hasn’t just been Porzingis and Kuzma, though. Complementary pieces, like Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert and Jordan Goodwin, have also stepped up in Beal’s absence. 

Avdija scored 21 points and made four 3s against Memphis, and Hachimura put up 23 points and eight boards against Dallas. During the four-game winning streak, Kispert has shot a crisp 16-for-22 from the field and 8-for-10 from deep, averaging just over 11 points per game. Meanwhile, Goodwin has emerged as a valuable asset off the bench for Washington, playing over 20 minutes in each victory as a young G League call-up. 

The small sample of success without Beal has caused some fans to question if the team is better without the 29-year-old shooting guard, who is considered one of the best pure scorers in the NBA. 

While it’s likely preposterous to suggest that a player worthy of the $251 million max contract the Wizards gave Beal this summer is capable of making any team worse, it can’t be denied that Washington hasn’t taken a hit without him in recent seasons. Since the start of last season, the Wizards are 22-29 with Beal and 21-24 without him. 

Beal, who could return Wednesday against Oklahoma City, is averaging just 21.6 points per game. It’s his lowest mark since becoming a star player and far below his 30-plus point-per-game averages in 2019-20 and 2020-21. However, his 52.1% field goal percentage is the highest of his 11-year career. 

“I think we’re slowly putting the pieces together,” Porzingis said Saturday. “Some things are clicking. And soon we’ll get Brad back, I think we’re in for a treat.”