Smooth Performance of the Night: Beal growing rapidly in Wall's absence

It's not difficult to imagine John Wall playing the role of Trent at the Washington Wizards' postgame dinner Monday, lauding the development of Bradley Beal's Mike.

"Our little baby's all growns up!" he would say. "You know what big boy? You're grown up!"

It hasn't been easy in three games with Wall on the sidelines with five fractures in his left hand and wrist. After opening their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks with a victory, the Wizards have dropped two of the three games Wall's missed, with Monday's 106-101 nail-biting defeat standing as a potential series-altering loss.

But after Beal struggled in Game 2, tasked with a much larger burden in running the team's offense and admittedly trying to do too much, Beal appears to be growing into his increased role rapidly.

Beal finished Monday's game with 34 points on 11-of-25 shooting, knocking down 4-of-8 from long range and adding six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He also had an enormous block on Dennis Schroder that created an opportunity for the Wizards to tie the game late.

The points are great - Beal's only scored more in a game once in his career, and 34 points is six more than he'd previously scored in a playoff game - but it's the assists that really stand out. He's now dished 22 dimes over the last three games, collecting seven or more in each. He'd only done that 12 times in his career entering the playoffs.

Nobody creates for teammates quite like Wall, who was accounting for nearly half of Washington's entire offensive production before his injury. No single player can make up for his absence, and playing without him is seriously threatening the Wizards' opportunity to steal a surprisingly winnable series.

Beal's doing his best, and it's been an incredibly impressive performance for a 21-year-old. Primarily a shooter and occasional pick-and-roll operator, Beal is suddenly getting into the heart of a once-impressive defense, dishing to teammates and forcing defenders to think twice about staying on his hop outside.

He's not finishing all that well yet - he's shooting 40.5 percent in the series and 39.3 percent on 2-point shots - and his shot selection isn't where it needs to be. But he's being asked to regularly make plays that he's performed sparingly before, with far greater defensive attention, and acquitting himself well.

Few players play such a large role at 21, and few young players have scored so much in the postseason so early in their careers. Wall's injury is terribly disappointing and is threatening the Wizards' playoff longevity, but Beal's progress under difficult circumstances is an appreciable silver lining.