Links: Bradley Beal beginning to settle in after early-season struggles

Hail to the rookies links:

• Bradley Beal faced a tall task going up against Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade on consecutive nights, but the rookie welcomed the challenge. Also, after noticeably struggling his first few weeks in the NBA, Beal now leads Eastern Conference rookies in scoring and assists in December. Not bad. [Washington Post]
• The Wizards were already a poor offensive team, but their struggles have only increased since A.J. Price went down with a hand injury. [Washington Times]
• Beal, Chris Singleton and Earl Barron brought some holiday cheer with them to the pediatric wing at Georgetown University Hospital last Thursday. [WashingtonWizards.com]
• The Hornets have signed ex-Wizard Dominic McGuire. [Times-Picayune | The Point Forward | Press release]
• I couldn't make it to last night's Google Hangout, which means that Mike, Amin, Thomas and Derek were actually free to have an intelligent discussion. Check it out.
• One of the things the guys talked about was a prospective trade which would send OkaAriza to the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon's expiring contract. Last night Calderon recorded a triple-double in leading the Raptors to their best win of the year over the Rockets. [Toronto Star]
• Jeremy Lin didn't exactly have high praise for himself after losing to the lowly Raptors. [NY Post]
• Andrew Bynum believes that playing with Kobe Bryant stunted his growth. It also got him a few championship rings, but hey, it's the growth that counts. [SB Nation | ESPN]
• By his own standards, Deron Williams isn't having the best season. [NY Daily News]
• Your roundup of Sunday's NBA scores. [SB Nation]