Is it time for Suns to be concerned about Bradley Beal?
Bradley Beal was supposed to be the player to help take the Phoenix Suns to the next level. Twenty-three games into the season, however, the Suns (13-10) are eighth in the Western Conference, and Beal has appeared in only four games.
To get Beal, Phoenix traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and second- and first-round pick swaps in a three-team deal. The Suns hoped an offense led by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Beal would be impossible to stop.
With a quarter of the season over, though, the trio has yet to appear in a game together largely due to Beal's back issues. On Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets, he will finally play with Durant and Booker.
On the season, Beal is averaging 17 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The numbers look OK, but the issue is efficiency — 39.7% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range.
It's hard to judge Beal in only four games, but he has been injury-prone the past four seasons — appearing in 57, 60, 40 and 50 games — and has seen a dip in his production. A career-high average of 31.3 points in 2020-21 dropped to 23.2 points in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
While Beal has disappointed during his brief Suns tenure, Durant and Booker are playing at an MVP level.
Durant is averaging 31 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists. Those numbers, paired with a 52.1 field-goal percentage and 50% shooting from three-point range, give you one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA.
With Paul gone, Booker has taken on the point guard role for the Suns, dishing out eight assists per game. The added playmaking burden has not affected his scoring, as he is averaging 27.7 points and putting up good shooting numbers from the field (48.3%) and deep (43.3%).
When those two are playing at that level, the Suns can beat anybody. However, Phoenix still needs Beal to contribute. He no longer must be an All-Star or carry the offense, but adding his offensive prowess would take some pressure off Durant and Booker.
Back issues are always tricky, though, and the possibility that Beal won't be a big contributor in 2023-24 exists.
Phoenix has received good play from depth players Grayson Allen (12.3 PPG, 46.8% three-point shooting), Eric Gordon (14.2 PPG, 2.9 APG) and Jusuf Nurkic (12 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 4 APG). None of them, however, is the ceiling-raiser Beal has the potential to be.
Even without Beal, Durant and Booker will have the Suns in the championship hunt, but to seriously threaten for the title, Beal must be a difference-maker.
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