Beal unconcerned by foul trouble vs. Raptors: 'You can't take 'em with you'
TORONTO - Bradley Beal's shooting played a key role in the Wizards' ability to even their first-round series against the Raptors when the Eastern Conference quarterfinal shifted to Washington, but foul trouble has still limited the All-Star guard.
Beal, who scored 59 points on 53-56-83 shooting between Games 3 and 4 in D.C., fouled out of Game 4 with 4:58 remaining in a tie ball game, as he continues to commit fouls at an uncharacteristic rate against Toronto.
| Beal fouls | Fouls per 36 min. | Fouls per 100 poss. |
|---|---|---|
| Career | 2.2 | 3.1 |
| Postseason career | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| 2018 playoffs | 3.7 | 5.0 |
Still, the Wizards shooting guard says he hasn't seen anything on film that looks any different in terms of the way he's defending or the style he's playing.
"If it happens, it happens, man," Beal told theScore when asked about his series-long foul trouble. "Being aggressive. You can't take 'em with you. Just like timeouts. You can't take timeouts with you. Coach is going to burn 'em. Just as well as you've got fouls, you've got six of them. I'm gonna use them all until I'm pretty much out, but I definitely gotta be smarter with how I use them."
The Wizards managed to pull away down the stretch of Game 4 without Beal, and have turned their 1-versus-8 matchup into a best-of-three after dropping the first two games on the road, but Beal's foul issues could catch up to them if he doesn't figure out the solution, as he's logged just 34 minutes per game so far in the series after averaging more than 40 minutes per game in his previous postseason career.
"That's been problematic, definitely, with DeMar (DeRozan)," head coach Scott Brooks said Wednesday morning of his team's general inability to defend the Raptors without fouling. "He's crafty, he's smart, he knows how to play. He's a big-time player, one of the best in the league at doing it. Shot-fakes before and after the dribble. They challenge you to stay disciplined but you've gotta defend him without fouling. We're gonna have to defend them without fouling, because he's such a great free-throw shooter as well."
DeRozan drew three of Beal's six fouls in Game 4 and has drawn four fouls on Beal in the series, but it's actually backcourt mate and fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry that has gotten Beal into the most trouble, drawing six of Beal's 14 committed fouls.
Game 5 between the Wizards and Raptors tips off Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. from Air Canada Centre.