Bradley Beal Drops 24, Paces Wizards to Win over Trae Young, Hawks

No John Wall, no problem for the Washington Wizards.

Thomas Bryant had a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double and Bradley Beal added 24 points, leading the Wizards to a 114-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Washington shot 46.7 percent from the field to take advantage of a porous Atlanta defense. Tomas Satoransky, starting in place of Wall, had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The Wizards are 2-1 since announcing Wall will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs in his foot.

John Collins finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks. Trae Young went for five points and nine assists.

Wizards' Play Without John Wall Making Bad Contract Look Even Worse

2019-20: $37.8 million

2020-21: $40.8 million

2021-22: $43.8 million

2022-23: $46.9 million

These two things are true.

1) Wall's contract was extremely justifiable when it was signed; it's the type of deal the NBA envisioned when it created the supermax.

2) Wall's contract is already abysmal and looks worse with every passing day.

Granted it's been against the Hornets and Hawks, but the Wizards offense does not seem to be missing a beat with Wall sidelined. Satoransky played well in Wall's stead last season and has looked infinitely more comfortable since joining the starting lineup.

There's absolutely no comparison between Wall and Satoransky as individuals. Wall's a five-time All-Star, a former All-NBA selection and one of the league's seven or eight best point guards when healthy. Satoransky's a fine rotation guy.

Watching the Wizards play over the last two games, though, their offense seems to run in a better rhythm with Satoransky handling the point. The ball sticks less. There's less assist hunting and more egalitarian ball movement. They don't necessarily look happy to be playing together, but there's less of a black-cloud misery—a compliment anyone who watched the Wiz play earlier this season will understand.

The numbers showed the Wizards were a worse team with Wall on the floor than on the bench all season.

This is still a grumpy bunch that probably needs to be broken up. There's just been enough of Bill Simmons' Ewing Theory going on here that it's making every one of those millions look worse with each passing game.

Wall's not worth the $169 million he'll get over the next four years. He didn't help himself with the sulky shoulders and lax effort he gave this season.

Each win the Wizards rack up in his absence will only make the bad optics situation worse.

What's Next?

The Wizards travel to Miami to play the Heat on Friday. The Hawks play in Milwaukee on Friday.