Bradley Beal obviously isn't over losing in the second round of the playoffs. On Monday, the Washington Wizards guard told reporters that he was a sore loser and thought his team should have beaten the Atlanta Hawks 4-1, via the Washington Post's Jorge Castillo. He's not exactly ready to root for anybody else, either:
Bradley Beal on his pick to win NBA title now that #wizards are gone: "I hope nobody wins. I'm a sore loser."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) May 19, 2015It's understandable that Beal is still upset. Postseason losses tend to linger, especially when you believe you're the better team. The Wizards aimed to advance farther than they did in 2013-2014, and they failed in that regard. They lost three straight games by a total of nine points after taking a 2-1 lead in the series, and would have taken Game 6 to overtime had Paul Pierce released his non-buzzer-beater a tenth of a second earlier. That's a tough way to go out.
The good news for Beal is that Washington played the most impressive basketball in the Eastern Conference playoffs, relative to expectations. In embracing smallball, the Wizards found a more suitable style of play than what they were doing in the regular season. Beal probably doesn't want to hear it right now, but they can build on this.
