Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal wasn't a fan of how the Toronto Raptors defended on Thursday.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse threw in a box-and-one defense to try and limit one of the league's best scorers. Though the Raptors' defensive strategy didn't quite work given that they still lost the game, it sure did annoy the hell out of Bradley Beal.
“That's Nick Nurse. He likes to junk the game up,” Beal said after the 131-129 OT win (via Fred Katz of The Athletic).
Bradley Beal on the Raptors’ box-and-one against him: "That’s Nick Nurse. He likes to junk the game up."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 7, 2021
In fairness to Nurse, the scheme did keep the Raptors in this one. The pesky guards of Toronto were on Beal the entire game and limited the three-time All-Star to fall a few points shy of his season average. But the moral of the story is – it's quite difficult to stop someone like Bradley Beal.
Despite the ‘junk' pressure he got, Beal still exploded with a team-high of 28 points and added five boards and five dimes. Beal also shot 50% from the field and knocked down his only three-attempt of the evening. With Russell Westbrook fouling out after playing 44 minutes, all eyes were on Bradley Beal down the stretch and, as always, the 27-year-old delivered.
Beal is having arguably one of the best seasons in his entire career. He's at the top of the league in terms of scoring with a career0high of 31.1 points per game. If not for Stephen Curry's explosive April, Bradley Beal would've run away with his first-ever scoring title this season.
But more importantly, Bradley Beal is on track to make his first-ever play-in appearance if the Wizards can hang on to the 10th spot in the East.
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