Lucky Hawks? Bradley Beal says Wizards should have defeated Atlanta 4-1

Every team that's won an NBA title has had the benefit of opponent injuries along the way. Even squads that make it to the conference finals have had their fair share of fortunate bounces. Some maladies are more impactful than others, but there's no such thing as an asterisk in the NBA playoffs.  But with that said, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal believes that his team should have defeated the Atlanta Hawks -- and it shouldn't have been close.

"In my opinion, we should’ve won 4-1," Beal said Monday in his exit interview. "We let a lot of games go down the stretch. They made some tough plays. Horford’s game winner. Paul [Pierce’s] – they took his away. That’s the series right there. It’s sad because it’s just like a few plays here and there but it’s all a learning experience at the end of the day.

"I give them credit. I always give a team credit," Beal added. "I give Atlanta credit. That’s a tremendous team. They’ve been playing like that all year. They’ve been playing great basketball. But whenever you’re playing against me, even if you beat me, I’m a sore loser. They didn’t really beat us."

It might seem like sour grapes, and the Hawks would surely point to the unfortunate absence of Thabo Sefolosha as evidence that Atlanta isn't exactly 100 percent healthy. But it's also fair to acknowledge that Wall's absence could have made the difference in the previous round. The Wizards will have all summer to dwell on it; the Hawks, meanwhile, have to prepare for a certain LeBron James.

(h/t Washington Post)

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