For Wizards’ Bradley Beal, it’s all in the family

The Wizards likely will lean more on Beal at the start of the season, with John Wall and Nene both out with injuries. Beal was the Wizards’ third-leading scorer in the preseason, reaching double digits in his first six games, and averaged the most minutes.

“I don’t think there is as much pressure on him as me, because the team is already made before he got here and he’s another little piece that we needed,” said Wall, who spent some time with Beal during summer league in Las Vegas. “When I came here, it was like, the piece that was going to start everything. But I think if he was in the same position, he’d do well.”

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The Washington Post’s Michael Lee describes how the Wizards got their main target with the selection of Bradley Beal with the third pick in the NBA Draft and discusses the effect that Beal’s shooting will have on point guard John Wall.

The Washington Post’s Michael Lee describes how the Wizards got their main target with the selection of Bradley Beal with the third pick in the NBA Draft and discusses the effect that Beal’s shooting will have on point guard John Wall.

Beal already has gone up against all-star talents such as Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson and Carmelo Anthony this preseason and said that he never felt nervous or afraid when he stepped on the floor.

“I have to compete against them. I want to try to be better than them,” Beal said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, I watched them.’ Now I’m at the same level they are at, playing in the same league, and I have to beat them and my team has to beat theirs. That’s how I think.”

Bobby Beal said he got teary-eyed last week when he looked on the court at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., and saw his son playing in a Wizards uniform for the first time. Bobby, Besta, Byron and Bryon drove in from St. Louis to offer some support and Besta couldn’t contain her excitement when Bradley finished the game with an emphatic dunk.

“It’s something we all dreamed about. It’s amazing,” Bobby Beal said.

Beal has developed an immediate affinity for his new home, even if he hasn’t completely settled in. As of last week, his apartment was undecorated and remained filled with boxes that have yet to be unpacked, as he prepares to move into a larger unit on a higher floor.

He had the essentials: a large flatscreen television, a stack of DVDs, an XBox and PlayStation III, a comfortable couch and beds for him and his brothers to rest their heads. Oh, and food in the refrigerator.

“That’s all you need: TV and a kitchen,” Beal said, without mentioning the obvious — his brothers.

“I’m the first one in my family to be a professional athlete, so I take that to heart and actually do it for them,” Beal said. “Because some of them were that close and didn’t make it and I feel that I do necessarily owe it to them, but I’m doing it for them. They are living through me, almost. My brothers are here, like I want them to experience what I’m experiencing.”

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