Daily Digits is a new daily feature we’re doing at Bullets Forever this year where we take a look at stats about the Wizards. We’ll dive into the numbers, add some context, and discuss how they affect the product on the court.

Today’s stat is Bradley Beal’s true shooting percentage in the fourth quarter this season, which is...

.667

The Wizards have been one of the best teams in the league in the fourth quarter this season. Part of that is the team making desperation runs to make the final score look better than the three quarter that preceded it.

Still, the Wizards have been quite good in the final quarter when the game is still in the balance, and Bradley Beal has been a big part of the reason why. He, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, are the only players in the league who average over six points per game in the fourth quarter while shooting over 55 percent from the field. He put on another clinic to put Wednesday’s game out of reach.

It’s remarkable how he’s been able to turn things around after struggling so much late in games last season. Last season, he was a classic case of trying to do too much. He used 32.7 percent of the team’s fourth quarter possessions when he was on the floor but only had a .501 true shooting percentage. This season, his usage is down a much more sustainable 27.7 percent and his efficiency has skyrocketed to .667 because of it.

That subtle shift has made it much easier for Beal to withstand his heavy workload. He’s averaging 0.3 minutes more per game than he did last season, and that will likely only go up with Wall out the rest of the season. If he can continue to find that happy balance, it will give him and the team a much better shot of going the distance.