Beal says Wizards have 'no dog,' aren't doing their jobs originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Bradley Beal began his postgame press conference on Sunday, following another blowout Wizards loss, seemingly at a loss for words. Then, he had plenty of them.
After losing by 22 to the Hornets, Beal blasted his team’s lack of competitive fire, expressing frustration that some of his teammates aren’t doing their part.
“We’ve gotta have some pride, man, some dog. We’ve got no dog. We just kind of let teams just walk all over us and that s— is frustrating,” Beal said.
Beal, who leads the NBA in scoring averaging 33.2 points per game, has tried to lead by example and with his voice. The results, however, have stayed the same.
The message is clearly not getting across, as the team followed up an impressive win over the Heat on Wednesday with two lopsided losses.
“It’s tough because we’re all adults. I can’t do it for guys. I can only do it for myself,” Beal said. “All we can do is encourage the next man to be ready to go and accept the challenge. I can’t do that for someone else. I can’t do your guys’ job and you can’t do my job. You know what I’m saying?”
Beal highlighted the Wizards’ defense in particular after a game in which they allowed the Hornets to shoot 15-for-36 (41.7%) from three-point range and grab 18 offensive rebounds, twice what teams were averaging this season against Washington entering this game. Giving up offensive rebounds and wide open threes suggest a lack of effort.
In discussing what the Wizards need to do to change their effort level, Beal seemed to defend head coach Scott Brooks without being asked about him.
“I mean, Coach is doing it. You see the little signs he does. He’s benching guys, he’s taking guys out early. You would think that would kind of click and roll over for us, but it doesn’t,” Beal said.
That right there highlights the conundrum of the Wizards. The players aren’t responding to the veterans on the team, or the coaches. So, is it the players or the coaches?
That sounds like something general manager Tommy Sheppard needs to figure out and soon, if they are going to have a chance to turn their season around after a 5-15 start.
