Washington Wizards Position Outlook: Shooting Guard

With the Washington Wizards starting training camp next week and preseason next month, it is important to take stock of where the roster stands at each position. Who is the starter, backup, and reserve players? What did they do last year and what should we expect this year.

Let’s take a look at the 2-guards below and you can check out the point guard break down here.

Starter: Bradley Beal

Player Bio: 25 years old, 6 years experience, 6-foot-5, 207 pounds, Florida

2017-18 Stats: 22.6 points, 4.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 46.0 percent shooting, 37.5 percent three-point shooting in 36.3 minutes per game over 82 games.

After a trying first four seasons of his career, Bradley Beal’s last two seasons. In the 2017-2018 campaign particularly, Beal achieved a couple of firsts: starting in all 82 games, and finally becoming an All-Star. Looking back, waiting for the ‘breakout’ phase of Beal’s career has been quite worth it. Knowing that he’s only at 25 years of age and – barring any major career setback – a ‘superstar’ phase of his career is looming makes me giddy. 

With the aforementioned feats under his belt, Beal is poised to turn more corners this season by continuing to expand of his offensive game. Last season, Beal showcased a vast improvement in his floor game – practically mastering his step-back jumper. He also exposed a vision of the court unlike previous seasons – and a career-high 4.5 assists per game testify to that. His body strength was also portrayed in his assertiveness at the rim – as a career high in total free throws can testify to that. His banter that he and Wall are the best backcourt in the league may still be a bit hyperbolic, but there’s no question the effort Beal has put in over the course of his career despite the setbacks, that he is looking to be nothing short of what he claims.

https://twitter.com/HoopDistrictDC/status/990006927076876290

Backup: Austin Rivers

Player Bio: 26 years old, 6 years experience, 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Duke

2017-18 Stats: 15.1 points, 4.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 42.4 percent shooting, 37.8 percent three-point shooting in 33.7 minutes per game over 61 games.

Having already been showcased in Neil Dalal’s Point Guard Outlook, Austin Rivers makes an additional appearance in the Wizards’ shooting guard outlook, as he looks to continue serving as a hybrid role player in the backcourt. 

For years, the Wizards have struggled with consistency from their bench to put points on the board. With Rivers now in the rotation, the Wizards not only have the flexibility to insert him as relief for John Wall (another area the Wizards have historically struggled in), but also as a running mate for Wall (or Satoransky) who can create scoring opportunities. Rivers’ efficient shooting percentage, particularly from 3, will pay huge dividends for him playing alongside a point guard who is elite at finding shooters from that range. 

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Reserve: Jodie Meeks

Player Bio: 31 years old, 9 years experience, 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Kentucky

2017-18 Stats: 6.3 points, 0.9 assists, 1.4 rebounds, 39.9 percent shooting, 34.3 percent three-point shooting in 14.5 minutes per game over 77 games.

In all its rarity, Jodie Meeks had his moments with the Wizards last season. For a guy who was as one-dimensional as Meeks was in his first season with the Wizards, without any scoring opportunities there’s really not much use for him on the floor otherwise. But with the player option on his contract, it was obvious that Meeks was going to pick it up, and so here he is, ready for one more run in DC.

With the acquisition of Austin Rivers, and with the possibility of Troy Brown minutes at the shooting guard position, there’s no telling just how involved Meeks will be this season. What we do know is that there will be zero involvement for the first 25 games at least, due to a hammering league suspension for alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Just where exactly these drugs enhanced his performance is still yet to be known.

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