The Washington Post - 03.03.2020

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

SAN FRANCISCO — For years, Bradley

Beal has opened almost every postgame

i nterview the same way.

The line, in which he offers thanks to

the Lord before diving into the particu-

lars of the Washington Wizards’ win or

loss, seems as routine as Beal going

through a crowd of defenders or rising for

a three-pointer. But after a win at the

Golden state Warriors on sunday, it felt

different.

Beal had accomplished a f ranchise

milestone — he became the only player in

team history to score 25 or more points in

18 straight games — and he was searching

for ways to explain the excellence. so Beal,

who has played his entire eight-year

career with Washington, relaxed into a

smile and spoke of a higher power.

“I’m just having fun and being confi-

dent. Really my faith, honestly,” Beal said

after scoring 34 points on 10-for-24 s hoot-

ing with seven made three-pointers. “Just

been getting my faith life together, and I

feel like that’s honestly putting me at a

place of peace to where I can play my

game, have fun with it.”

And here is where a small miracle is

happening in Washington. After weeks of

feeling despondent after an all-star snub

and growing frustrated with losses, Beal

is now finding beauty in the ashes of the

Wizards’ season.

“Just having fun, honestly,” Beal said

sunday. “ I’m not thinking about anything.

I want to go out there and win.”

While the Wizards (22-37) have lived

up to preseason presumptions of medioc-

rity, Beal has surpassed expectations. In

doing so, he has passed some of the more

accomplished names in franchise history.

on Feb. 23, Beal leapfrogged Jeff Malone

for second on the Wizards’ all-time scor-

ing list.

The next night, he moved past Gus

Johnson and Phil Chenier to take over

fourth in field goals made.

Those games — in which he scored 53

and 55 points, respectively, and became

only the sixth player in nBA history to

compile 50 or more on consecutive nights

— represented the Wizards’ season. While

Beal played spectacularly, the team did

not.

see wIzArds on d4

KLMNO

SPORTS

TUESDAy, MARCH 3 , 2020. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 d

wall, worthy of f raming, b ut it

provided uncommon production.

Martinez could sleep. o pposing

pitchers would t oss a nd t urn.

now, R endon is g one. A nd s o is

Martinez’s restfulness.

Davey, h ow much t hought and

time have y ou put i nto the

construction of your lineup?

“A l ot,” Martinez said. “A l ot.”

We’re at t he point i n the

Grapefruit League schedule at

which a manager’s e veryday

lineup, from one t hrough n ine,

has y et t o appear. sunday

afternoon against t he new York

Mets, Trea Turner hit first, his

accustomed s pot, but Ryan

Zimmerman hit s econd, which

you w on’t s ee all season. In t he

five hole Tuesday was s omeone

named Yadiel Hernandez.

For the regular players, it’s

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WEST PALM
BEACH, F LA. —
For a major league
manager, what a
set lineup lacks i n
creativity, it makes
up for in c omfort.
For almost all of
the 2 019 season —
and f or every single g ame of a
magical october — D ave
Martinez could put his head on
his pillow and, w hatever o ther
problems were percolating, know
that the following day he c ould
write down Anthony R endon to
hit t hird and Juan soto to hit
fourth.
That c ombination — t he right-
handed-hitting t hird baseman
followed by t he left-handed-
hitting l eft fielder — n ot only
looked beautiful hanging on t he
Washington nationals’ dugout

Without Rendon, Nats’ lineup

remains a work in progress

Barry
Svrluga

BY LES CARPENTER

The absurdity of this time of
year is the certainty. Rumors fly in
the nFL, with every nugget ut-
tered in the days between the
scouting combine and the draft
carrying the promise of a definite
truth, no matter how divergent
those utterances might be.
Ta ke, for instance, the opinions
presented by two of the nFL’s top
media analysts — esPn’s Mel
K iper Jr. and nBC’s Peter King —
regarding the Washington Red-
skins’ no. 2 selection in April’s
draft.
Last week, Kiper said “there’s
no doubt” Washington should
pass on ohio state pass rusher
Chase Young w ith the second pick
and take Alabama quarterback
Tua Ta govailoa, as long as the
team’s doctors are fine with
T agovailoa’s injured hip. Days lat-
er, King scoffed at the idea during
an appearance on Dan Patrick’s
radio show, saying: “The Redskins
see redskIns on d5

As Redskins

ponder draft,

the intrigue

keeps coming

BY EMILY GIAMBALVO

As the Maryland men’s basket-
ball team desperately tried to
close the gap during a deflating
home loss to Michigan state on
saturday night, Coach Mark Tur-
geon looked to a new face to join
the top six players usually trusted
in such moments: Hakim Hart, a
freshman who hadn’t p layed at a ll
during a recent 10-game stretch.
Hart hadn’t entered the game
at all in the first half against the
spartans, either, but Turgeon
played the 6-foot-6 guard for 10
minutes after halftime. Hart
stepped in for the first time since
Jan. 10 when the Te rrapins played
ohio state a week ago, and he has
since carved out a spot in Mary-
land’s rotation.
“Hakim can handle it,” Turgeon
said. “He’s a smart player. Keem
believes in himself. He knows the
pressure’s not on him to do a lot.
He’s just got to go out there and
give us some good minutes.”
Hart’s length comes in handy,
and he’s a solid passer. He is
certainly not afraid to shoot. After
he subbed into the game against
the Buckeyes, Hart took a shot
with less than a minute left that
didn’t please Turgeon, who said
afterward, “If he does it again, I
told him he won’t play the rest of
that game.”
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After stint

on bench,

Terps’ Hart

gets a shot

Beal is at peace and on a tear

The Wizards’ star has found purpose in a losing season and is setting records along the way

Wizards at Kings

today, 10 p.m., nBC sports Washington

Maryland at rutgers
today, 7 p.m., Big te n network

KAtHerIne Frey/tHe WAsHIngton Post

Bradley Beal averaged 3 6.2 points per game in February, the highest total over a calendar month in wizards history, according to elias sports Bureau.

BY SAM FORTIER

WEST P ALM BEACH, FLA. — W hen

Daniel Hudson took the mound

for his first appearance of spring

training, he wasn’t remembering

october. He went back further, all

the way to early 2 019, when he was

a nonroster invitee with the Los

Angeles Angels. The Angels cut

him at the end of spring training,

and the pitcher with two To mmy

John surgeries wondered whether

his career m ight be close to over.

nearly a year later, on Monday

afternoon, he was on the mound

as a reigning World series cham-

pion. It was his first appearance

since Game 7, when he chucked

his glove after the final out, em-

braced catcher Yan Gomes and

ignited the biggest celebration in

franchise history. The season that

led to that moment revitalized

Hudson’s career; earned him a

two-year, $11 million contract;

and afforded him a sense of secu-

rity when he didn’t dominate the

see nAtIonAls on d3

Even with r ing, he can’t forget being cut last spring

Hudson is glad this year

he can try to find stuff

without fearing for job

JoHn MCDonnell/tHe WAsHIngton Post

“[now I know] one pitch won’t knock me down a peg or two,” the nationals’ daniel Hudson said.

Pro BASKetBALL

James Harden’s criticism

of giannis Antetokounmpo

was way off the mark. d2

HIgH SCHooL BASKetBALL

As the season winds down,

a new set of area rankings

and our weekly notes. d5