Washington Wizards clipboard: Bradley Beal's out of bounds playbook

During the preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Randy Wittman gave fans a sneak peak at some quick-hitting plays to get Bradley Beal easy jumpers. By designing out-of-bounds plays to take advantage of Beal's shooting, it helps the team's offense and builds the rookie's confidence. Let's take a look at a few of Wittman's plays.

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In this first play, it almost looks like the team is trying to free up A.J Price with a dribble handoff from Emeka Okafor. Instead, that action simply sets up a double screen for Beal. Beal starts under the basket and gets screens from Trevor Booker and Okafor before ending up with an easy jumper. This is a nice misdirection that could also be used in a normal half court set.

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A few possessions later, the Wizards have the ball underneath the basket again with only two seconds remaining on the shot clock. This is a perfect opportunity to use the team's new sharpshooter. The team starts in a box, with players manning both blocks and both elbows. Beal comes across the lane to set a screen for Booker. After setting the screen, Beal gets a screen from Okafor, and he should theoretically be open for the jumper. If the defense overplays Beal, then Booker should be open underneath the basket. In this case, none of the screens make contact with the defenders and Beal gets his shot blocked.

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Minutes later, the Wizards have the ball out of bounds, and we see the exact same box play again. Of course, the Bucks also recognize this. Watch Monta Ellis bear hug Beal as he sets the initial screen for Booker. In his attempt to defend Beal, he actually creates a giant traffic jam in the paint, which leaves Booker wide open. Unfortunately, Trevor Ariza is looking for Beal as his first option, and misses Booker until it is too late.

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Properly executing these out of bounds plays in the regular season will be difficult because of all the scouting that goes into the game. However, if Beal and the Wizards can capitalize on this handful of plays per game, it could very well lighten the load on an offense that seems destined to struggle in the half court.