Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal is struggling.

Beal, who is expected to be the missing piece in the Suns' pursuit of a championship, went 0-of-7 from three in the team's 129-120 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Friday. Beal is having a slump, making just 23.8 percent of his threes since Jan. 16.

Beal's play is frustrating fans who are expecting the team to compete for their first-ever title.

I polled Suns fans about Beal. Here is what they said.

Here's an assessment of Beal's season.

Player analysis

ClutchPoints wrote before the season Beal would be a piece that could push the Suns over their championship hump.

Without Chris Paul, the Suns, who traded for Durant last February, pushed the defending champion Nuggets to six games in the Western Conference semifinals.

Beal spoke about playing next to the duo of Durant and Booker and being a third option.

“This is easily the best team I've been a part of,” said Beal, who played with the Wizards and only one star, John Wall, for most of his tenure.

Beal was rumored to be the Suns' starting point guard at the beginning of the season, though that role has since been claimed by Booker.

Beal unfortunately has not been available for most of the season. He suffered a disc injury to his back in preseason camp and re-aggravated it upon his first return to the lineup.

Beal then returned and the Suns played their first game with their Big 3 in a 116-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets Dec. 13. He suffered a right ankle sprain four minutes into the Suns' next contest, a 139-122 loss to the New York Knicks Dec. 15.

Beal, for the first time, played the full month in January. He averaged 18.4 points on 48.8 percent shooting (32.9 percent from 3-point range), 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 16 games.

Off-ball role, point guard duties

Beal is rumored to be a player who can play point guard for the Suns.

That role has been awarded to Booker, who is leading Phoenix in assists (7.3).

The Suns need Beal to be a better distributor and a threat to score.

To this point, Beal has had one 30-plus point game (he had 37 against the LA Lakers Jan. 11). Since, he has struggled while wearing a mask after he had a nasal fracture in the Suns' 133-131 loss to the Indiana Pacers Jan. 26.

Beal, although averaging 17.3 points, has a minus rating offensively according to Bball Index. The Suns rank in the 55th percentile, just over average in the metric, in points per possession and in the 78th percentile in improved effective field-goal percentage with Beal.

Beal's lineups with the Suns are not the greatest on defense, although Beal has proven to be a competitive defensive matchup. The Suns are in the 28th percentile in 1,622 possessions with Beal on the floor in effective field-goal percentage (58.0) by opponent.

Beal needs to be a third star in order for the Suns to win the title.

Hawks takeaways

Beal's shots have been questionable since he is not shooting the ball well at all.

Since he suffered his broken nose, Beal is shooting fewer than 28 percent from three.

Beal took another shot in the first half of the game.

“He's battling,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “He's playing with a broken nose. Got popped again tonight, had to come out, bleeding. It's not easy what he's doing.”

Although Beal is struggling, he is continuing to play through the injury, which should quiet any concerns about his desire to play, though that should not be a discussion given his availability through the entire month of January since his return from an ankle injury.

Beal also had 10 assists in the game, which is a season-high.

“Just got to credit him for toughing this out and participating,” Vogel said.