Bradley Beal desperate to avoid 1 outcome in first round

Nov 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) controls the ball against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Timberwolves pushed the Phoenix Suns to the brink of elimination Friday night with a 126-109 win, and Suns guard Bradley Beal reacted quite strongly to the situation his team now finds itself in.

Beal spoke to the media after the game with the Suns now down 3-0 in the series. The veteran guard made it very clear that he is absolutely determined to avoid getting swept, which he said has never happened to him before.

Bradley Beal on Game 4: “I’ve never been swept a day in my life, so I’ll be damned if that happens."

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) April 27, 2024

“I’ve never been swept a day in my life, so I’ll be damned if that happens,” Beal said.

Beal played in eight playoff series with the Washington Wizards, and he did indeed avoid being swept in all of them. The closest he came was a five-game loss to Philadelphia in 2021, in which the Wizards did fall behind 3-0 before salvaging Game 4.

After being a non-factor in the first two games of the series, Beal dropped 28 points in Game 3, but it was nowhere near enough in a 17-point defeat. The entire series has been a disaster for the Suns, who face the very real risk of failing to win a single playoff game despite being an expensively assembled superteam. Anthony Edwards has thoroughly outplayed them, and they are now faced with one game to save their season.

As for Beal’s comments, a win to avoid a sweep will look better for the record, but fundamentally, the details will not matter much whether the Suns lose in four or five.